Hard Time: Sequel to Broken
by ashlynnb14
Summary: This is a sequel to my story Broken. I still don't own any SOA characters, only my own. Victory Teller is a headstrong girl that just wants to find her place in the club and her family, but with the SAMCRO president as her father, the Tacoma Killer as her godfather and the strongest Old Lady in SAMCRO history as her mother, adolescence is proving to be served as Hard Time.
1. Suspended Again

"Victory Teller! How many times have I asked you to put your phone away during class?" I cringed at the sharp note Ms. Brady's voice hit at the end of her question. I slid my phone into my pocket and tried out my best Teller smile. If she'd been a man, it may have worked.

"Principal's office, Victory. Now." She snapped and pointed at the door. I groaned and swung my bag over my shoulder before storming out of the classroom. The school resource officer shook his head as I slammed the door behind me. I smirked at him and headed off to the office I'd visited so frequently over the past four years.

As a senior at Charming High School, the principal and I were almost on first name basis. My godfather, Happy Lowman, swore that the only reason I wasn't expelled was the principal had a thing for blondes. Unfortunately for Principal Crowley, he would be the one to pick me up from the office today. My parents were out of town for their anniversary and my older brother Abel was out on a run for the club.

"Victory, why did I even think I'd get through the week without you getting sent to the office?" Crowley looked away from his computer and leaned back in his tall, leather chair. I smirked and hitched my shoulder.

"Don't know, Crowley. It's only Wednesday. I wouldn't ever bet on my behavior until at least Friday morning." I dropped down into the chair in front of his desk and rolled my toothpick between my teeth. It drove Mom crazy that I picked up the toothpick habit from Happy, but it was the only thing that kept me from smoking at school.

"You're grades would be a lot better if you actually stayed in class long enough to learn anything, Victory. Are you not worried about what colleges are going to think?" He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Might be if I was applying. Before you say we'll talk to your Mom about that when she gets here, you should probably know Happy is the only one in town." I smirked as he sighed and grabbed the phone. The color drained from his face as he spoke to Happy. He relaxed a little after hanging up the phone.

"You know there's a whole world outside of that clubhouse, right?" Crowley took his glasses off and pointed an earpiece at me. I laughed and nodded. Little did he know, I'd spent three weeks in Ireland with my aunt, Trinity, over the summer break. We sat in familiar silence as we waited for my guardian.

"I'm busy." Happy growled as he busted into the office. Crowley shook his head and brought his hands up apologetically.

"One week, Mr. Lowman. I can't keep looking the other way for Victory." I scoffed and threw my hands up. Out of all the times I'd been in trouble, I'd only gotten suspended for a fight with a guy in the cafeteria. My dad threw a party for me and Mom actually gave me a pass on that one since the guy had grabbed my ass before I hit him.

"Yeah, can't keep your eyes off her." Happy grumbled as I pulled my helmet out of my bag. I shot him a look and he returned it with a scowl. I turned away first, losing the silent argument with him again. Luckily, Crowley didn't seem to hear him.

"It's fine, I'll have Misty bring my work over." I said with a shrug as Happy and I exited the school. He shook his head silently. Things with the club weren't exactly going easy right now, so I knew he had a lot on his mind.

"You got time to paint a tank?" Happy paused at his Dyna and looked down at me. I raised my brow.

"Yeah, you gonna give me a cut?" I snapped my helmet on and waited for him to get on the bike first. He laughed and nodded.

"You're doing the whole thing. I don't have time. Two hundred good?" He sat down on the bike as I nodded and climbed on behind him. The bike roared to life just before Happy opened the throttle and shot out of the lot. I squeezed my legs tighter and grabbed the back of his kutte.

We pulled into the lot and I hopped off the bike quickly. I'd succeeded in burning my leg on the exhaust and didn't want to hear shit about riding bikes in shorts. Happy followed me into the garage and pointed out the tank I was supposed to paint. I picked it up and looked back at him.

"You didn't even prep it yet? Three hundred and you don't tell my parents I got suspended." He scowled and twisted a ring on his finger as he considered my terms.

"Three fifty and I'll talk to Jax." I groaned and shook his hand. I knew he would never keep it from both of them but it got me more money and Dad was more lenient. It also helped that Dad could choose not to tell Mom or calm her down before I saw her.

I grabbed my painting pants and hoodie and headed into the clubhouse to change. When I was five, I started drawing and painting all over the place. Happy worked with me on design and eventually my art moved from crayon drawings on the walls to airbrushing and painting cars and bikes. My passion was in custom airbrushing or pin striping, but I was still trying to talk Dad into expanding the garage and adding a paint booth so we could start taking on bigger projects.

"Ay princess!" Chibs caught me and pulled me into a hug. I smiled and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. If any of my uncles let me get away with anything, it was Chibs, second only to Tig.

"Get suspended again?" I blushed a little and nodded. He laughed and shook his head before letting me go. "Don't head home 'til Abel gets here, Victory."

"Problems with the Russians again?" Chibs scowled at my knowledge of the club's business but nodded all the same. I sighed and shook my head as I walked down the hall to Dad's dorm. If it wasn't the Russians it was the Irish or some other group of angry men with guns. Dad got the club out of running guns when I was younger and ever since then, SAMCRO has been good with the Mayans and Tyler's crew, but everyone else seemed to pick fights over any little instance.

I finished tying my hair back and headed back out to the garage quickly. A tall, dark haired guy walked through the clubhouse door with his face in his phone, I didn't even have time to dodge him before he walked right into me and I fell on my ass. He looked down in surprise and put his phone away.

"Sorry sweetheart, I didn't see you there." He smiled and offered me a hand up. I scowled and swatted his hand away as I climbed off the floor. His smile faded a little.

"It's hard to see where you're walking with your face in your phone. Watch where you're going next time." I growled as I pushed by him to get out to the garage. I had never seen him around the club or anywhere else for that matter. He couldn't have been much older than Abel and his green eyes were striking against his dark hair. If he hadn't been so infuriating, I may have thought he was kind of hot.

I rolled over to the paint table and put the tank down in front of me. According to the paperwork, the customer wanted a red demon over matte black. I grabbed a permanent marker and started sketching out a design on a piece of poster board. As usual, I got so caught up in my work that I didn't even notice someone standing behind me.

"Cool sketch." I jumped and spun around on my stool. The idiot that had walked into me had apparently snuck up on me in the garage. I picked my marker up off the floor and snapped the lid on. He moved closer and smiled as he looked at my work.

"Who the hell are you?" I growled with my arms folded across my chest. The guy's eyes flicked over to mine.

"Name's Brent." His eyes warmed and he gave me a half grin. I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips.

"That's your name. I asked who you are, as in why are you here?" His grin spread into a full smile and he leaned forward, propping a hand up on the paint table and invading my personal space.

"You're talking to the newest member of the Sons of Anarchy, sweetheart." He wagged his brow at me and lowered the pitch of his voice. I smirked and covered my mouth in mock surprise.

"You're a Son? Oh my gosh!" I fluttered my eyelashes at him and added a sickening sweetness to my voice that I'd picked up from croweaters. He nodded slowly and leaned closer to me.

"Don't worry, you didn't know. I forgive you, doll." He was getting closer and closer to my face. I reached a hand up and pressed it into his chest.

"Can I see your vest? They're sooooo sexy." I bit down on my lip and felt bile creeping up my throat. Playing dumb disgusted me and calling a kutte a vest was sacrilege for a girl that grew up in the club. He hesitated for a second before recovering.

"It's at the cleaners." He lied as smoothly as he could. I dropped my fake smile and smirked.

"The cleaners? You realize that kutte is sacred, right? If you can't take care of your leather, then you don't deserve to wear it." I snapped as I pushed him away. He floundered and shook his head.

"You aren't a Son until you've got that top rocker, prospect. A good way to lose that is pushing up on the president's daughter." Happy snapped from behind Brent's shoulder. I watched as the color drained from his face and smiled.

"Victory Teller. Have an awesome year or two, prospect." I laughed and shook my head as I turned back to my sketch. I heard feet scuttling away quickly followed by heavy boots heading in the same direction.

I finished my sketch, sanded the tank down and called it a night. Moby waved bye to me from underneath a car hood as I headed back to the clubhouse. Abel's bike was parked between Happy's and Chibs'. I picked up the pace and jogged into the clubhouse.

"Vic, Mom's going to kill you." Abel said with a laugh as he wrapped an arm around my neck and pulled me to him. I groaned and tried to push away.

"Get off, Abel. Hap is telling Dad first so maybe he won't say anything to Mom." I said hopefully as I finally got free from the headlock. Abel laughed and shook his head.

"Good luck with that, Vic. You ready to head home? I'm beat." I nodded and hurried back to Dad's dorm to grab my stuff. Abel normally stayed at the clubhouse, but recently he stayed at home more often than not. He tried to say it was because he missed me but I knew it was the heightened alert that the club stayed on these days.

I banged my fist on Happy's door and yelled goodnight before meeting Abel at the end of the bar. I strapped my helmet on as we walked out to his bike. I smiled at the sight of his Dyna. The very first rendering of Mr. Mayhem I ever airbrushed on a bike covered the right side of Abel's tank. It always meant a lot to me that he was so proud of it.

"So, what'd you get busted for?" Abel asked as we sat down on the couch in the living room. I sighed and lit my cigarette.

"I was texting Misty about the party on Friday. Her mom doesn't think it's a good idea for her to come." I said with a pout. Abel shook his head and popped the top to his beer.

"Should have told her mom it was just dinner and cake." Abel couldn't even keep a straight face at the thought of Misty's mom buying that.

"Yeah, right. I'm turning 18 and I'm just going to have dinner and cake. Her mom isn't an idiot." I blew a trail of smoke at him and smirked when he waved it away. Misty had been one of my best friends since middle school, but her Mom grew up in Charming. So, anytime we wanted to have a sleepover it had to be at Misty's house. It irritated me because Mom told me not to take it personally, but personal is all it was.

"Whatever, she'll just sneak out if her mom says no. I'm going to bed, Vic. You should too if you want to get that tank done by Friday morning." He ruffled my hair as I groaned. Sometimes my perfectionism and creativity bit me in the ass. I could have sketched up a much simpler design, but that wasn't who I was. If I was lucky, that damn tank was going to take me about twelve hours.

"Goodnight, Abel." He scrunched his nose playfully as I kissed him on the cheek. I just laughed and headed upstairs to my room. As I laid in bed, I couldn't help wondering what it was going to be like to finally be an adult. Hopefully being legal would make the club realize it's perfectly normal for me to date. No one was as bad as Dad, Abel and Happy but all of my uncles were overprotective. I drifted off to sleep with a smirk at the thought of introducing them all to a guy one day.


	2. The Bike

"Hey Dad! How's Monterey?" I banged on Abel's door for the third time. It was already 9am and I wanted to be at the garage by then. I finally heard a grumble and some shuffling around behind the locked door, so I headed off to the kitchen.

"It's good, doll. Hap said you got suspended for a week." I could hear the laugh in his voice and relaxed a little.

"Yeah, I was using my phone. Is there any chance you won't tell Mom? I'm doing a whole custom tank by myself." I knew that he would be glad to hear I wasn't just hanging around the house or the clubhouse.

"Victory, you're mom will shoot me if you don't graduate. I won't say anything but you're going to get caught." He was right, of course. Even if I left as if I was going to school in the mornings, there weren't many places I could go that Mom wouldn't know. Luckily, I was passing all of my classes so even when she did find out, most of her wrath could be tamed.

"You're going to be home for the party, right?" I already knew the answer, but I really wanted to be reassured. He laughed and I could almost see him rolling his eyes.

"I missed one birthday when you were a baby and you act like I've missed all but one. We'll be there, Victory." I smiled and nodded at Abel as he walked in the kitchen with his blonde hair going every which way. Dad was right, he'd missed my second birthday due to being locked up, but he'd never missed any birthday after that. This year their anniversary plans were messed up by club business and they had decided to go this week instead.

"We're heading out to TM, Dad. Love you both." I grabbed Abel's arm and drug him towards the door. Dad reminded me to be good and we ended the call.

Abel flew over to the garage and headed straight to his dorm without a word. He was anything but a morning person and I didn't even risk thanking him for the ride. I greeted Moby and Juice in the garage as I headed back to the paint table.

"Vic, you want a muffin?" Juice asked, offering me a large paper bag. I pulled my paint mask down and smiled.

"You still trying to get Bobby's recipe down?" I grabbed one and looked it over before taking a bite. We'd lost Bobby to cancer over two years ago and Juice kept his memory alive by baking. It was getting better, but they still didn't have quite the fluffy, fresh flavors like Bobby's.

"Yeah, but Chibs said they're too heavy. You think you're going to get that done today?" He pointed at the tank I had just finished priming. I looked over at my sketch and shrugged.

"Today? Probably not, but I'll work through the night so it's done in the morning." He shook his head at my determination before headed back over to the Mustang he was working on. I took another bite of the muffin and decided I agreed with Chibs before tossing it in the garbage and pulling my paint mask back up.

I was zoned in to my work and it was coming along well. The sounds of the tools and motorcycles didn't even register with me until my stomach started growling loudly. I sighed and put my airbrush down, frustrated that I couldn't work without eating.

"Hey, I'm going down to the taco truck, do you want anything?" I was looking down through the engine bay of the Mustang that Juice was still working under. He rolled out from under the car and brushed his hands off on his pants.

"Grab me a burrito." He said with a smile as he pulled some cash out of his back pocket. I shoved the money back at him and shook my head as I walked out of the garage. The taco truck was only a couple blocks away, so I wasn't going to bother borrowing a car.

"Teller, you staying out of trouble?" I pushed my sunglasses up and looked over at Althea Jarry who was standing in line a couple people in front of me. She was the Sheriff in Charming, but she was also a club friend and Chibs' on again off again girlfriend. At the time, they were on again.

"Always, Jarry." I wanted to ask her how Ivy, her and Chibs' five year-old daughter, was feeling with her chicken pox, but it wasn't something we could talk about in public. Jarry still tried to keep up a good cop appearance, so we didn't talk much in public. After I got the food, I gave her a friendly nod and headed back to Teller-Morrow.

When I glanced around the lot on the way back to the garage, I noticed a familiar black truck parked close to the gate. My teeth gritted reflexively and I just hoped the owner had already left. Unfortunately, I didn't get that lucky.

"Victory! Wait up!" Kyle Watkins got out of his truck and hurried to catch me before I got in the garage. I stopped and turned around slowly. I always made it a priority to avoid Kyle since I broke up with him after the junior prom. He was set on winning me back and I was set on my family not finding out we'd ever actually dated. When he picked me up for prom, I'd told everyone we were just friends.

"Something wrong with the truck?" My hands were full of food from the taco truck so I didn't have to worry about him hugging me. He ran his hand around the back of his neck and shook his head. I wasn't surprised.

"I noticed you weren't at school and I was worried about you, Vicky." My lip curled a little at the nickname I'd always hated. Only friends and family got to call me Vic; for everyone one else, it was Victory.

"You shouldn't worry about me, Kyle. It's been over a year." I glanced over at Juice as he walked out of the garage and headed over to me. Despite being close to forty-five, he still kept his hair in a short black Mohawk to display his tribal tattoos on his scalp. Misty was convinced Juice wasn't even forty yet and still didn't believe me when I told her he was as old as our parents.

"Everything okay, Vic? Thanks, doll." I handed him his bag of food and nodded. He eyed me for a second before turning to Kyle. My secret ex-boyfriend swallowed hard as Juice stared him down. To me, Juice was just a big kid but he still wore the kutte, so he still scared off any outsiders.

"Just reminding Vicky about graduation dues. I'll let you get back to work." He turned away quickly and headed back to the safety of his truck. Juice raised his brow at me suspiciously. I shrugged and followed him over to the picnic table to eat.

"Vicky? I thought you hated that." Juice asked as he unwrapped his burrito. I nodded and took a bite of the steaming hot quesadilla.

"I do. He's an idiot. What's Dad getting me for my birthday?" I smiled and fluttered my eyes innocently. I'd been trying to pull out any information I could for the last four months to no avail. Juice pointed his burrito at me and shook his head.

"Not going to happen, Vicky." I scowled and threw a piece of lettuce at him. If he started that Vicky shit I'd wring his neck. We finished our food quickly. Juice headed into the clubhouse and I rushed to get back to work on the tank. It wasn't fifteen minutes into working and my phone was trilling, interrupting the classic rock I'd played on the music app.

"What's up, Misty?" I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I turned the tank around on the turntable, looking for any imperfections I needed to correct.

"Can you pick me up, Vic? Mom and I got in a huge fight and I can't be here." I sighed and stood up, pulling my paint mask off and tossing it on my stool. Misty and her mom were notorious for having huge screaming matches, so this wasn't really a surprise.

"Give me ten minutes, hon," She agreed and I slid the phone back in my pocket while opening the clubhouse door with my other hand.

"Shit." I muttered as I noticed that the chapel doors were closed. There was no way I was going to interrupt church to ask for the keys to the tow truck. I glanced around, thinking how I could get over to Misty's house. Brent, the prospect, was leaning against the bar and smoking a cigarette. I smirked and marched over to him.

"You got the keys to the tow truck?" I folded my arms across my chest and did my best old lady impersonation. If it were a Son, I would never get away with the attitude. With my uncles, I had to play it sweet and innocent to get what I wanted. With the prospect though, I didn't have time or patience for that.

"Yeah, why?" He spoke carefully and diverted his eyes away from me. I could only imagine what kind of horrors Happy filled his head with.

"We've got to go make a pick up. Now." I growled, as he stood motionless. He looked from me to the closed chapel doors and nodded slowly. I could almost hear the thoughts running through his head as he chose between refusing the president's daughter and possibly doing something he shouldn't.

"What the hell? I thought we were picking a car up?" Brent looked at me with exasperation etched into his brow as I opened the door for Misty. She climbed in as I scooted to the middle of the bench seat. I couldn't help notice how good Brent's cologne smelled.

"I said we had a pick up. I never mentioned a car." I turned from him and looked at Misty. My stomach flipped over at the swelling around her eye and the split in her lip. No wonder she was carrying a huge backpack.

"Damn, Misty. What the hell happened?" I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and she rested her head underneath my chin as Brent started back to Teller Morrow. I felt tears falling down onto my chest as she shuddered in my arms. This was the first time I'd seen her cry in years.

"Move." I shoved Brent out of the driver's side and followed him out of the truck. I hurried around to the other side and grabbed Misty's bag before reaching in and taking her hand. She hadn't said a word on the ride over and I knew it was because we weren't alone.

"Prospect, mind telling us where ya took the truck?" Chibs called out as he walked out of the clubhouse. I glanced back at Brent and then at Chibs.

"He helped me out." Chibs looked from me to Misty and I didn't have to say another word. He nodded and moved aside so we could go back to the dorms and have some privacy. Happy, Tig, Juice and Abel watched carefully as I half carried Misty across the clubhouse. Opie offered to help, but I shook my head with a small smile.

I kicked my Dad's dorm room door open and tossed her bag onto the floor before closing the door and joining her on the end of the bed. She was sitting cross-legged and fiddling with the end of her brown hair.

"Mom found my birth control prescription and freaked out." Misty sniffled and shook her head. I didn't really know how to relate to what she was going through. My Mom had taken me to get birth control over a year ago. For she and I, it was a mother daughter moment that we shared and Dad knew nothing about. For Misty though, it was secret she kept from her Mom by any means necessary.

"So she hit you because you are smart enough to not get knocked up?" I was flabbergasted at the very idea of a mother hitting her daughter, much less over something responsible like birth control.

"It's more than that. She was sitting in my room when I got home and had the prescription in her hand. She started grilling me on it and who I was having sex with. She tried to say that's why I wanted to go to the party or hang out here. She said I wasn't going to be anything more than a biker whore." She sighed and shook her head as tears started falling again.

"Does she know about you and Kenny?" She laughed and shook her head as if I'd asked if her mom wanted to come to the party. Misty and Opie's son Kenny had been together for almost a year now. Outside of the club, no one knew about it since Misty was still seventeen and Kenny was twenty-four.

"Jarry's not here arresting him is she? I wouldn't tell her who I've been with and then I brought up the shit between her and Quinn. Apparently it's still a sore subject." She smirked and gestured up at her eye. I sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I'll have to let Quinn know his sex skills are that traumatizing." My joke succeeded in making Misty laugh. In all actuality, Misty's mom and Quinn had fooled around for a couple months and she never got over him refusing to give her a crow. She gave him an ultimatum to choose the club or her. Misty's eye went to show what his choice was.

"She kicked me out, Vic. I don't know what I'm going to do." She was trying to hung her head when I caught her chin and forced her to look at me. I smiled and shook my head.

"Misty, you're like the sister I always wanted. You know Mom would love to have you stay with us. Then we can get the apartment we were already planning on after graduation. It's going to be okay." I kissed her cheek and stood up as she seemed to regain some color in her cheeks.

"I gotta finish a tank and I'm sure your man is already on his way here." She hugged me again and headed out to the clubhouse with me. Just as I predicted, Kenny was standing next to his dad and pulled Misty in to his side. I nodded and continued on towards the garage.

"Hey, thanks for backing me up with Chibs." Brent said as he walked up to the table. I finished the shadow I was working on before pulling my mask down. It was well into the night and I was getting close to adding the clear coat, so my mood had lifted considerably.

"You're going to dig your hole enough without my help. You might have actually gained some credit for helping me." I smiled up at him as I turned the tank around and pulled my mask back up. I leaned in and made the final touches. I didn't miss Brent pulling a stool up and watching me work.

"What do you think?" I spun the turntable around slowly so he could check the paint out from all sides. He looked at it closely and nodded.

"That's fucking sick. Where'd you learn how to do that?" His eyes moved from the tank to me with a smile. I turned the dryer on and stood up. Brent followed me out to the front of the garage. I offered him a cigarette, which he accepted and lit mine up before answering him.

"Happy taught me how to airbrush and tattoo. I guess I've been doing both since I was thirteen. I've drawn since I could hold a crayon though." I shrugged and blew out a cloud of smoke. Brent looked surprised as he inhaled.

"You tattoo? Damn. No offense, but I can't see Happy teaching a little girl how to tie her shoes, let alone paint and tat." He smiled when I laughed in agreement.

"I'm his goddaughter so I guess I'm just special. You'll probably hear Jax calling Happy my babysitter at some point. It pisses Hap off but that's the point." I smirked and remembered the first and last time Juice tried to use the same joke. I could still see the slight crookedness to his nose from where Happy broke it.

"What was it like, growing up the president's kid?" The longer we stood talked, the more I could see Brent relaxing. I stole a few lingering glances as we smoked. He was almost as tall as Opie, but his hair was cut into an undercut and he kept the longer part pulled up into a man bun. The worst part was how incredibly nice his beard was. It was full and I could tell he took care of it; you can't have a shaped beard without taking care of it.

"You'd have to ask Abel. I grew up the president's daughter. It's a lot different from my point of view. Instead of taking dance class, Dad taught me how to shoot and fight. I'm still very much a girl, but I'm tougher than a lot of guys my age. It drives Mom crazy but Dad and I are more alike than she and I." I laughed and remembered how annoyed Mom got when we went prom dress shopping. I wanted something to match my leather jacket and she had to watch me try on over a hundred dresses.

"Prospect, stop harassing Victory and get on your damn bike. You and Abel are going out with Juice and Kenny to meet up with the Tacoma charter. Keep your eyes open." Tig barked as he narrowed his blue eyes at Brent. He turned to me and nodded before heading out to his bike. I noticed he had a Harley Davidson Dyna Switchback and I couldn't help stare.

"The bike or the prospect?" I blinked and looked up at a smirking Tig. I rolled my eyes and slapped the back of my hand on his leather covered chest.

"The bike. Tiggy." He didn't seem to believe me, so I just headed back into the garage to add the clear coat on the tank. It was two in the morning and I was starting to get tired.


	3. Who the hell taught you how to drive?

"Happy Birthday!" Misty bounced up and down on me to wake me up. I was thankful Dad's dorm didn't have any windows. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked up at Misty. I hadn't even felt her get out of bed and she was already showered and dressed.

"What time is it?" I tried to roll over to my stomach but she caught my shoulder and pulled me down to my back. It was great that she was feeling better, but I just wanted to sleep.

"Ten in tha moanin!" She said with her best Scottish accent. I laughed and looked up at her silly face before shoving her off of me and consequently into the floor. A few seconds after the thud of her butt hitting the carpet, we both burst into laughter.

"I'm getting in the shower, crazy." I pulled my drawer open and pulled out underwear and the black and silver dress I'd been saving for my birthday. It was short and the back was low, unlike the paint pants and hoodie I normally wore around here. Misty picked up my black heels out of the closet and waved them at me as I hurried into the bathroom.

"Victory! You're dad is calling you!" Misty called into the bathroom. I cut the water off and wrapped myself in a fluffy towel. My blonde hair was all over the place as I cracked the door open and took my phone from her.

"Hey!" I said happily as I brushed some of the hairs out of my face. I was growing more and more excited about my party later.

"Happy Birthday, baby girl. Are you at the clubhouse?" I could hear Dad's smile over the phone.

"Yeah, Abel went out to meet Tacoma." I started searching through the medicine cabinet for my makeup.

"Hey baby! I can't believe you're already eighteen!" My mom sounded like she was about to cry. I laughed and shook my head.

"Mom, I'm still you're little girl. When are you two getting here?" I wasn't too proud to admit I missed my mom and dad.

"We just got home, baby. We're going to get some sleep and then pick up your present. Do you have plans before tonight?" I knew she wanted to make sure I wasn't lonely or bored.

"Yeah and we need to talk about something later. Nothing major, just some stuff with Misty and her mom. What'd you get me?" I tried one last time. I heard both her and Dad laughing in the background.

"Nice try, Vic. No working today!" I promised them I wouldn't work and then ended the call. As soon as the call ended, I realized Mom must know I'm not at school. She seemed to take it better than I thought she would.

I finished getting ready and ran the towel over my hair a few times before stepping out into the dorm room. Misty looked up from the motorcycle magazine she'd found somewhere and smiled.

"You look amazing! Abel and Jax are going to flip their shit." Misty giggled as I did a turn and hitched my shoulder. I wasn't dressing for them or for anyone else but myself. It was my eighteenth birthday and I wanted to feel like a woman.

"Happy Birthday, love." Chibs gave me a tight hug as soon as I walked out into the bar. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and squeezed him back. I turned back to Misty and smiled.

"Did you know if it wasn't for this one right here Mom and I might not have made it? We were too far from a hospital so Chibs delivered me." He shrugged humbly as Misty's eyes widened.

"Yeah, watching this lass's big head coming out ruined sex for me for a week." Chibs said with a laugh. Misty and I both blushed and I smacked his arm.

"I was there but I didn't have to see that shit. Neither did Opie." Happy said with a laugh as he pulled me in for a hug. My arms were pinned to my side and he leaned back to pull me off my feet a couple inches.

"Hap, can't breathe." I over exaggerated my choking and he rolled his eyes as he put me down. He scowled at me and shook his head.

"You ain't supposed to grow up, Vic." He gave me a rare kiss on the forehead and wished me happy birthday. I hugged him again before Abel attacked me.

"Victory Rose Teller! Happy fucking birthday!" He tried to pull me into a headlock but I brought my knee up to his thigh sharply. He grimaced and settled with hugging me instead.

"Abel, you're gonna mess my hair up, you ass." I scowled at him as he stopped ruffling my hair. He stepped back and looked at me as his head started shaking slowly.

"You need to fucking change, Vic." He glanced over at Misty and nodded his head towards me. I had a feeling something was going on and everyone knew but me. Misty nodded and smiled over at me.

"Save the sexy dress for the party, Vic. It might get uncomfortable?" Her voice went up at the end like she wasn't sure what reason to give. Abel narrowed his eyes at her quickly before smiling and nodding at me. I looked back at Happy who just shrugged with his normal straight face. I threw my hands up in the air and stormed back to the dorm.

"Are you all happy?" I asked loudly as I walked back in a pair of ripped jeans and a black tank top. The clubhouse was eerily quiet and empty. I twisted my mouth and checked the chapel doors before heading outside. I froze and shook my head as I saw the whole charter, their old ladies, and most of the Tacoma charter standing in the parking lot. Mom and Dad shared a laugh as I covered my mouth and hid my overly excited smile.

"Shit." I yelped as the world went black. I heard Happy's gruff laugh and knew he would be the one to blindfold me, of course. I felt my Mom's hand take mine and lead me away from the clubhouse. The Teller in me hated being blindfolded, but I tried to be a good sport. After all, I was probably never going to be safer than when almost two charters and my family surrounded me.

"I wanted to make you wait until you got off of suspension, but Jax talked me out of it." My mom laughed and kissed me on the cheek as we came to a halt. I took a deep breath to calm my skipping heart.

"Happy birthday, Victory." It was my dad's voice and the blindfold was taken away. My eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets at the sight of the present in front of me. I shook my head in disbelief. The car that I had wanted ever since I was eight was sitting right in front of me and my father was holding the keys out to me.

I'd refused to get any other type of car or motorcycle for the past three years. Now, sitting in front of me was my 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback. It was flat black with two glossy black racing stripes running front to back. I walked around it twice before I noticed the small reaper on the back right quarter panel. I looked over at Happy who smirked and shrugged his shoulders, confirming it was his doing.

"Thank you so much! Oh my god!" I took the keys from my Dad and hugged him tightly. He squeezed me around the middle and kissed my cheek with a smile. His blue eyes were bright as he pushed me out to arm's length.

"I love you, Victory. You're the best daughter I could have ever imagined. No matter how old you are, I'm always going to be here for you. Eighteen or not, you're still my little girl." I bit my lip to keep from crying as I nodded and remembered all of the times he's been there for me over the years. I turned to my mom and smiled.

"Happy birthday, baby. Go have fun and be careful." She kissed me on the cheek and pressed the keys into my hand. I laughed and nodded.

"Misty, you wanna ride?" I didn't even finish speaking before she nodded and hopped in the passenger's seat. The engine roared to life loudly and I ran my hands over the soft leather of the steering wheel. I glanced over at Misty and grinned. She'd always been given strict rules not to let me drive her car, so she'd never gotten the pleasure of riding with me.

The car felt like an extension of me as I peeled out of the parking lot and spun the tires in second gear. Misty was gripping the edge of her seat and shaking her head. I laughed and slowed down a little until we made it out of town. I chose the curviest road in the area and stretched the car's legs.

An hour later, I pulled back into Teller Morrow and parked the car next to Lyla's suv. Misty got out of the car before I even cut the engine. I laughed and let the engine idle for a minute before turning it off and getting out of the car. The lot was still full of bikes, but most everyone was inside now. Misty was in Kenny's arms as I walked over to the picnic tables.

"Who the hell taught you how to drive?" Misty said as she scowled at me. Kenny and I shared a laugh.

"Dad. Mom said she didn't have the patience because I wouldn't slow down." I shrugged and acknowledged Brent with a nod as he walked over out of the clubhouse. He smiled and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering me one before taking his own. I bummed his lighter and inhaled deeply, savoring the unfiltered taste of tobacco and nicotine.

"Awesome car, Victory. Happy birthday." He gave me a bright smile and looked over at the Mustang.

"Thanks. I've wanted one forever." I laughed as Tig waved his finger between Brent and I before walking up from behind the prospect and giving me a hug.

"The bike, my ass. Happy birthday, brat." He planted a kiss in my hair and finished hugging me. I glanced around and twisted my mouth, a little perplexed.

"Where's Venus, Tig?" He sighed and shook his head. Venus and Tig had been together since I was little and she was always at family dinners. She'd even given me a sex talk around the age of thirteen. Of course, Mom and Gramma already gave me their own versions, but Venus definitely won the award for funniest.

"She's not feeling that great, sweetheart. She sent a gift though and sends her love though." His eyes dimmed a little and I could tell there was more to it. I just gave him a half smile and nodded, knowing full well that he wouldn't say any more about it.

"Victory, you got a minute?" Abel called from over in the garage. I nodded and headed over as Tig started questioning Misty and Kenny on when she was getting his crow. It was a sensitive subject for Kenny, since Misty had refused it a few months ago. She explained that she wasn't old enough to be an old lady and Kenny understood, but he was still touchy on the subject.

"What's up, bro? Mom and Dad refuse to let me work today." I informed him as he put an arm around my shoulder. He nodded and opened the side door, pushing me into the garage.

"I couldn't show you this outside because I know Mom is going to flip her shit. Dad suggested I show you in here so she doesn't kill me at your party." Abel laughed and his eyes shone with excitement. I sucked my bottom lip in and nodded as he walked me past the Cadillac in the first bay. There was a large white sheet covering what was obviously a motorcycle.

"Abel, what did you do?" I stared at him as he shrugged and gave me a smile. He pulled the sheet off and motioned towards the Triumph Bonneville. It had obviously seen better days, but that made it that much better.

"I know it doesn't look as great as the Mustang, but we can work on it together. Happy said you'd probably want to paint it anyway. You like it?" My shock wore off a little and I felt tears running down my cheeks. Yes, I love the car my parents got me, but for Abel to give me a bike that we could work on together, it meant the world to me.

"I love it, Abel. You're the best brother ever. Mom's going to kill you though." I laughed and thought about the time she'd caught him teaching me how to ride his motorcycle. I sat down on the cracked leather seat and reached out for the handlebars to test the fit.

"Well, maybe we should wait to tell her it's yours. We can fix it up and then she'll be so in awe of it, she won't kill me." I pursed my lips and raised my brow at him. She hates the idea of me being on a motorcycle if its brand new or restored. Regardless of my brother's pending doom though, I agreed to keep it a secret until it was done.

"Let's get back out there before she wanders in here though." Abel put the sheet back over my bike and led the way out to the lot. I stopped behind him and flipped the light out before closing the door.

I spent the rest of the day hanging out at the clubhouse and catching up with some of the old ladies from Tacoma. They shared tips about dating and reminded me to introduce them to Mom first.

"Mackenzie can prepare Jax and calm him down before your man meets him. She's your only hope if you don't want the boy shot on sight." Lyla said with a laugh as she sat down on the couch next to me.

"Did Ellie introduce you to Nick first?" I glanced over at Ellie who laughed and rubbed her hand over her stomach. Her old man, Nick, was now the SAA in Tacoma and they were expecting their first child in October.

"Hell no! Ellie just showed up with Nick at dinner one day and Opie didn't say a word the whole time. He just glared at the two of them. If it wasn't for getting called out on a run, Nick may have ended up in the ring with Ope that night." She laughed and Ellie nodded in agreement.

"Dad has a lot better temper than Jax too." Ellie pointed out. Everyone nodded and I sighed, pushing my hair behind my ear.

"I'm fucked. Even if Dad doesn't kill him or scare him off, there's still Happy." I pouted as everyone laughed and nodded. As if on cue, Happy walked over and handed me a beer.

"Hap, she's eighteen not twenty one." Mom said with a laugh. Happy shrugged and handed me the other beer in his hand as well. I smirked and sipped on the beer. Mom knew that I'd had alcohol before, but she didn't like it.

"You realize I'm sitting right here." Jarry said with a laugh. I nodded and handed her the second beer before tipping mine to her and turning it up. She rolled her eyes and took a drink.

"See, Mackenzie, even the sheriff ain't stopping her." Happy smirked and headed back towards the bar. I finished the beer off and left the circle of old ladies once they started talking about how great sex was after long runs.

"I know you said you didn't want a cake, but I don't listen." Juice said as he slid a small pink box down the bar to me. I rolled my eyes with a grin and opened the top.

"You're the best, Juicy." I kissed him on the cheek and grabbed a fork from behind the bar. He'd gotten me a red velvet cupcake from my favorite bakery in Oakland. It was funny to imagine him riding down road with a tiny pink box strapped to his bitch seat. Happy reappeared briefly and gave me another beer.

"You're a horrible babysitter, Hap." Dad laughed as Happy shot him a glare and the bird. He didn't care if I drank, but he had to give Hap a hard time. Opie laughed and shook his head from next to Juice.

"She's eighteen, brother. I don't think she needs a babysitter anymore." I smiled and nodded at Opie's comment. Happy glared at him and shook his head.

"Bullshit." He growled before throwing a shot of Jack Daniel's back and pouring himself another. Dad laughed and took a beer from the crow eater behind the bar as Happy took a seat next to him.


	4. Jack Daniels

If the sheriff wasn't sitting inside the clubhouse when the party got to full swing, we would have faced enough charges to keep the judges busy for a year. From underage drinking to disturbing the peace, my party had it all covered and then some. When I wasn't playing pool or dancing around, I was outside watching a fight in the ring or shooting the bull around the fire pit.

"So, this is from Venus. I guess it's from both of us, really. Your mom or dad asks and it's from her though." Tig grinned and shoved a glittery pink and black bag at me. I raised my brow and put my beer down on the picnic table. I pulled out the tissue paper and blushed before I even pulled the gift out.

"Tiggy, this is... Tell Venus I still remember our talk from years ago." I laughed and hugged him tightly, making sure to put the pink vibrator back in the bag to prevent onlookers from getting a peek. Tig laughed and kissed my cheek.

"We love you, princess. You know we're always here for you." I nodded in appreciation of one of Tig's rare moments of seriousness. Excusing myself quickly, I put the bag in the back of my car with a wink. The sound of sniffles caught my attention after I closed the door.

"Misty, what's wrong babe?" She was leaning on the wall between my car and Lyla's Navigator. As if I wouldn't notice her mascara running down her face or the redness of her eyes, she brushed her tears away and shook her head with a forced smile.

"I'm fine, Vic. It's nothing that can't wait until tomorrow." I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. It wasn't like Misty to lie to me and she wasn't a sad drunk. Normally, she was the life of the party and I just hung around and talked to everybody or played pool. I offered her my beer before leaning against the wall beside her.

"Maybe it could wait but you're going to tell me now. It's my party and I'll pry if I want to." I winked at her to try and earn a real smile. She responded with a sigh and some more tears.

"Kenny and I broke up." She muttered before taking a big drink and leaning her head against the wall to look up at the stars. It didn't make sense. Kenny was ready to give Misty his crow and besides feeling too young to accept it yet, I wasn't aware of any problems in their relationship.

"I don't get it. You were fine a few hours ago. What happened, Misty?" She laughed darkly and rolled her head around to look at me.

"I'm sure the fucking croweater that was coming out of his room would be able to tell you more than I can. I was going to take his crow on our one year next month." Her bottom lip started quivering as I felt my Teller temper building up inside of me. Kenny was a Son and it wasn't exactly unheard of for one of them to fool around with a croweater, old lady or not, but Misty was my best friend.

"Is she from here or Tacoma?" I was hoping she'd say the bitch was from Tacoma, so I could blame it all on Kenny.

"She's been her for over two years, Vic. What does it matter? He let it happen." She started to cry again and I grabbed her by the arm. I may not be an old lady, but Gemma taught me almost all the rules before she passed away last year. If there was one thing an old lady didn't do, it was let another bitch push up on your old man. Misty didn't have a crow but she was Kenny's and every damn croweater knew it.

"I know he did and I'll handle that later. Who's the bitch? Don't make me go around asking." Misty huffed with frustration as I waited impatiently. She threw her hands up in surrender.

"It was Amber, okay? Victory, stop! Where are you going?" I was already past the end of my car as she hurried to catch up with me. I didn't pause to look at her as I headed back to my Dad's dorm. I flung the door open and started peeling my dress off before the door even closed.

"What are you doing, Vic?" I glanced up at Misty as I pulled a cropped, navy SAMCRO shirt on. She wasn't crying anymore, but I could tell she was starting to panic.

"I'm changing so my dress doesn't get ruined." I smirked and pulled on a pair of low-rise jeans. Misty's eyes widened further. After pulling my hair up into a pony tail, I headed back out into the clubhouse.

"Victory, whoa. What's going on?" My dad caught me by the arm and eyed me curiously. He could always tell when I was truly angry. It wasn't that hard, but he could even catch the early signs before anyone else. I smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm taking care of my family, Daddy. Do me a favor and make sure Jarry stays in here. I don't really want her feeling torn between being an old lady and being a cop." He sighed and shook his head, running a hand through the blonde hair he'd passed on to Abel and I.

"Fine, I'll tell Chibs. You're trying to get Mom to kill us both, aren't you?" I shook my head and smiled a silent thank you as I got back to scanning the room. Kenny was standing by the pool tables looking sullen, but I decided to hold off on dealing with him until I could do it one on one. As angry as I was, Kenny was a Son and I respected that.

I caught sight of the back of Amber's dark brown head walking out of the clubhouse. Without hesitation, I headed to follow her outside. She was pushing up on Brent when I found her again. For some reason, that made me even angrier. I stopped a couple inches behind her and smiled at Brent.

"Hey, Amber. Do you have a minute?" She turned around at her name and slowly turned her snarl into a polite smile. We never had a good relationship, but she still had to respect me.

"How can I help you, Victory?" Her smile faded a little as her eyes moved over to Misty. I shrugged.

"You can't. You can however take this as a lesson not to touch someone else's man." Her smile was completely gone and replaced by a confused scowl.

"Take what?" I smirked at her and let out all of the anger I'd gained since Misty told me what had happened. It was only a few minutes ago, but I had plenty to share.

"This." I threw a jab right into her cheek, followed closely by a left hook to the other side. She screeched and reached out for my face with her glued on nails. Instead of clawing me, I caught her hand and bent it back towards her wrist, causing her to bend to her knees the more I pushed.

"Victory, what the fuck?" Abel's arms were around my waist, pulling me away from the croweater that I was far from done with. I managed to grab a handful of her hair and kick out at her chest as Abel drug me away.

"Sick." I groaned as hair ripped out of her head as she pulled away. The biggest reason I wasn't interested in hairdressing was the abundance of fallen hair they have to deal with. The very idea made me sick.

"Damnit. Katey, take her inside and get her cleaned up. Vic, what the hell was that about?" My mom was standing in front of me with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Abel let me go and I threw an elbow back in his chest.

"It's my fault, Mackenzie. I shouldn't have provoked her. I knew she'd been drinking." Misty did her best to get me off the hook with my mother. Mom looked at me with a raised brow and waited for my answer.

"I'm sick of croweaters fucking people's relationships up. You've done the same thing before so don't try to preach to me, Mom." I folded my arms across my chest and smiled. She closed her eyes and shook her head with a frustrated sigh.

"Prospect, disappear." Brent nodded and followed the order of the SAMCRO queen without question. "Girls, I get it, really, I do. The sad fact is with the MC, there's always going to be croweaters and sweet butts. They'll do their best to make any of the men happy, no matter if they've got an old lady or not. The difference is whether or not your old man lets them. Yes, Victory, I've put a few of them in their place before. The difference is, none of them ever got anywhere with Jax. I taught them to take no as an answer." She sighed and hugged Misty to her as I just furrowed my brow.

"I'm not saying I wouldn't have done the same thing, Vic. The thing is, it's as much Kenny's fault as it is that girl's. Her reason for being around this club is to service the men. Just think about that next time you feel like going Rocky on a croweater for screwing a Son. You'll probably still end up right here, but don't think it's all on them." Mom kissed Misty's forehead and let her go. Her eyes had never left mine during the lecture.

She knew Misty would never fight somebody, but the message was all the same. Don't let a Son get away with what you beat a croweater down for. It was a new way of thinking that Mackenzie was trying to get across to the younger generation of old ladies. Gemma is probably rolling over in her grave.

"I broke up with him." Misty said, hitching her shoulder. Mom frowned a little but nodded. She, like Misty and I, had thought that Kenny and Misty were going to make it. Like all things though, it can change in a blink of an eye.

"Jax and I are about to head home. Are you two coming?" I shook my head as Misty nodded. I figured she would probably want to get out of here, and she needed some adopted-mom time with my mother anyways.

"I'll probably stay here. I've got a somewhat early morning anyways." Mom nodded with a raised brow. She rarely questioned where I was going or with who, but it didn't stop her from being curious. I gave her a hug and kiss before she headed to her car with Misty in tow.

"I figured you'd be up here." Juice smiled brightly as he joined me on the roof with a bottle of Jack. I laughed and gave him a small shrug.

"You caught me and brought gifts!" He nodded and handed me the bottle before sitting down beside me. If I wasn't in the garage or in the clubhouse, it was an easy bet to find me up here drawing. I swallowed down some Jack before passing it over to Juice.

"Had enough of the party already?" He asked, looking out over the lively crowd downstairs. I shrugged and shook my head.

"Not really. I just wanted to think and it's hard to do that with everyone talking to me all at once. You know Kenny and Misty broke up?" I glanced over at him as he nodded, swallowing some liquor.

"Yeah, watched that shit go down in the hallway. You think your brother will move in on that?" He passed the bottle back over to me and I almost dropped it from shock. He laughed and smirked. "Vic, your brother is crazy about Misty. I don't know how you haven't noticed that."

"My brother's a man whore, Juice. No way he's breaking my girl's heart. Crazy about her or not, I'm not supporting that." I shook my head and took a few more gulps of Jack Daniels.

"Vic, your dad used to be the same way until he met Mackenzie. If you care about somebody enough, the other shit doesn't happen anymore." He took the bottle away from me and drank some more. I could tell he was well on his way to being hammered, but I was right there with him.

"Why don't you have an old lady, Juice?" I glanced over at him before averting my eyes. It was personal and I didn't even realize I'd asked before it was said and done. Juice sighed and paused before answering.

"I guess for the same reason Happy doesn't, in a way. Sometimes I can barely handle the shit we have to do, much less explain it to an old lady or help them deal. Happy wouldn't want to and I don't think I could." The fact that he even answered the question surprised me almost as much as his reason.

"I guess it'd be easier if they already knew what it was like." I glanced over at him and hitched my shoulder. It was the same reason I didn't try too hard to make friends at school. None of them really understood the club and I didn't want to explain it, even if I could.

"Yeah, it would be." I watched Juice's pearly teeth scrape against his bottom lip as he looked over at me. Something about the way he talked to me like an equal drew me in. None of the Sons ever talked down to me and they were always friendly and caring, but in a way that made me feel like a little sister or niece. The way Juice was talking to me made me feel like an adult.

I reached for the liquor and felt his hand graze mine as he passed it over to me. The liquor did nothing to cool the heat I was starting to feel inside. I'd known Juice forever and had seen him countless times, but I felt like it was the first time. His warm, caramel skin complimented his milk chocolate eyes and his bright white smile stood out against it all.

Before I gave myself time to think, my hand had turned Juice's face back towards mine and our faces were mere inches apart. His warm breath smelled like Jack Daniels and his favorite St. Dismas cigarettes. I bit my lip lightly as our eyes locked, neither one of us blinking or looking away. My heartbeat raced and I heard his breathing quicken.

"Victory," I don't know what he was planning on saying after that, because I cut him off with a kiss to his full lips. He groaned a little, but returned my kiss. His hand moved to the back of my neck and pulled me in a little closer. My lips parted with a quiet moan and his tongue licked at my lips, asking permission to deepen the kiss. I turned my head a little, granting him more access to my mouth as I ran my hands over his shoulders.

His body was radiating heat into my palms as our tongues danced in rhythm. I moved closer and felt his hand slide down from the back of my neck to my bare hip. I moaned again, savoring the feel of his skin against mine and the growing intensity of our kiss. My foot connected with the Jack Daniel's bottle and I felt the liquid drench my shin.

"Shit." I pulled back and picked the bottle up. Juice's eyes watched me as I stood up. The heat in my lower stomach was pulsating as I recovered from the passionate moment that just happened between the two of us. I bit my lip and headed down the ladder, leaving him alone on the roof. It was stupid of me to act like that with him and I beat myself up as I headed back to the dorms.

I was rinsing my leg off with the showerhead when I heard a knock on the dorm room door. I smacked my hand on the glass shower door as I went to turn the water off. Jack Daniels and I were definitely not getting along tonight.

"Yeah, hold on." I called as I tried to shake the pain out of my hand that was already sore from hitting Amber. I heard the door open and cut the water off quickly. My liquor soaked pants were laying in the floor and the only option I had was to wrap myself in a towel or put the dirty jeans back on and risk hitting my hand in the shower again later. I chose the towel and wrapped it around my waist, folding it in on itself to keep it still just above my thong.

"Juice?" He was standing against the door with his thumbs in his front belt loops. Upon hearing his name, he looked up from staring at his boots. I felt his eyes move up my body, finally ending at my gaze.

"I should go." He turned to leave, but paused before turning the doorknob in his hand. "Why'd you kiss me, Victory?"

"I wanted to." I couldn't think of a lie that he would believe, so I had to settle for the truth. He dropped his hand from the doorknob and looked back at me.

"You shouldn't." His voice was almost a whisper. I nodded and wrapped my arms around my ribs.

"I know. Why'd you kiss me back?" I didn't want the answer; I just wanted the attention off of my own decisions. He shook his head with a small laugh.

"I wanted to." I smirked and brought my eyes back up to his. They were still warm and I felt myself being drawn back in to him. Every step I took was weighted with the knowledge that I shouldn't have taken the step before.

"You shouldn't." I whispered as I laced my fingers in with his. Both hands found metal rings that dug into my skin as he squeezed my fingers in between his. Our mouths moved at the same time and met in the middle, picking up right where they'd left off on the roof. He spun us around and backed me up against the door, bringing my hands up above my head. My breath quickened as his mouth pulled away from my lips, only to move down to my neck.

"Lock the door." I whispered on heavy breaths. He maneuvered his left hand to hold both of mine in place above my head and locked the door with his right hand before moving it over to my hip. I leaned my head back and bit my bottom lip as his teeth grazed my rapidly pulsing vein just beneath the skin. I wrapped a leg around the back of his knee and pulled him closer to me so his chest pinned me to the cold, wooden door.

"Stop me, Victory." His voice was rough as he begged me to stop what we were both too wrapped up in to stop ourselves. I shook my head and moved my head down, meeting his lips again. He moaned and pressed his waist into me. I could feel the hardness through the thin, white towel covering my black thong that felt warm and wet between my thighs.

His left hand released my wrists and trailed down my side, his thumb grazing the side of my breast. I pushed the leather kutte down his arms where he removed his hands from my waist just long enough to let it fall to the floor. The feel of his muscles and skin underneath his tight black shirt was a foreign wonderland that I couldn't keep from exploring with my fingertips and nails.

Juice stepped back slightly, giving himself room to slide a hand up from my waist, over my stomach, and onto the lacy fabric of my demi bra. His fingertips found the mound of breast above the fabric and paused. I pulled back just long enough to nod, permitting him the access I so desperately wanted him to have.

He tugged the cup of my bra down, replacing the lace with his fingers. He palmed my breast before rolling my hardened nipple between his middle and ring fingers. The metal of his ring surprised my body, causing me to inhale sharply, only to follow it with a low moan.

"Juice," I raised my arms above my head slowly. His teeth sank into his bottom lip as he took the invitation to push the shirt up and off of my chest. I stepped forward, off of the door and over towards the bed. He stopped me by grabbing me up by my thighs. I wrapped my legs around him and the towel pooled onto the floor, leaving me in my skimpy underwear to his almost full wardrobe.

I pulled his shirt over his head, holding myself tight to his waist with only my legs until my arm could wrap back around his neck. My eyes wandered over the tan skin and tattoos I'd seen several times before. My hand was responsible for his anarchy symbol on his right side less than six months ago.

Juice slowly crawled onto the bed, lying my back down onto the mattress gently. Although my sound judgment was nowhere to be found, my nerves started emerging through the liquor-induced daze. I had never been this far with a man before.

"You're so beautiful, Victory." Juice's whisper between kisses and nips on my chest calmed my nerves slightly. My back arched as his lips found the peaked nipple of my breast. His hands took advantage of my raised back to unclasp my bra. I bit my lip and met his gaze as he tossed the lacey lingerie over towards my discarded shirt.

He shifted upwards and took my lip into his own teeth, sucking it gently into his mouth. I pulled his head down closer with a hand behind his neck as my other hand undid his belt buckle. His smile could be felt on my lips as I fumbled with the button to his jeans. He pulled back and guided my fingers with his hands until the button and zipper were fully undone. I ran my hand over his black, boxer briefs and felt my heartbeat quicken.

"Juice, I…" He looked up from my hand that was stroking him through the thin cloth to my eyes. I was going to ask him to go easy. I was going to tell him it was going to hurt. Instead, I smirked.

He returned my smirk and ran a hand up my thigh and onto the tiny triangle of fabric covering my hot, wet split. I moaned at the pressure of his hand on my yearning body. He hooked the thong with his thumb and slowly pulled it down my legs and off onto the bed. I was completely exposed and vulnerable as his eyes traced every curve of my body.

Juice crawled backwards off the bed and toed his boots off. His eyes never left me as he pushed his boxer briefs and jeans off into the floor with his socks. I tried to hide my hard swallow at the size of him. There wasn't much I could compare it to, but it was definitely intimidating. He paused before climbing back on the bed, reaching down and grabbing his wallet by the chain. I saw the foil of a condom wrapper in his hand before he tossed his wallet back down and climbed back onto the bed.

He hovered above me, looking into my eyes intently. I nodded slightly before pulling his mouth back down to mine. Drunk or not, I knew if I took to long to think about it, I'd overthink everything. Juice's hand grazed over the tip of my breast on the way down to my mound. He slid a finger over my sensitive nub and down between my folds. I moaned and reflexively thrust my hips up towards him.

His finger paused at my opening, slowly circling and pressing down lightly. I ran my tongue over his and he slowly pushed his finger into me. I closed my eyes at the new sensation and exhilaration from feeling him inside of me. He pushed slightly further in before pulling it back out and running it over my folds.

"You're so wet, Vic." Juice moaned as his mouth moved back down to my neck. I could barely breathe from the yearning I had to feel him in me again. I trailed my fingertips down his abs and around his shaft, sliding my hand up and squeezing slightly. A growl escaped his lips and I continued the attention to his shaft, running my thumb over his head gently. No man had ever gotten this far with me, but I did have some experience with hand jobs in the back of trucks after football games.

I heard the ripping of the foil condom wrapper and moved my hands back around to his lower back as he slid the rubber over himself. My heart was racing as he passed his tip between my folds and over my clit before pausing at my opening. I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly, relaxing fully and regaining my calm.

The feelings of stretching and fullness spread through me as Juice entered me slowly. I moaned as he pushed further in. It didn't exactly hurt, but I could feel an unfamiliar pressure as he slowly pulled back and pushed in again. I found his mouth and kissed him deeply as the slow motions gained rhythm and speed. There was a pulsating feeling building up inside me as his hands kneaded my breasts.

"You feel so good." Juice moaned into my ear before returning to kissing my swollen lips. The pulsing built up quickly before exploding into vibrations and waves of pleasure. I was acutely aware of my body tightening around him in pulses as I moaned and panted onto the skin of his neck. His own breath quickened as his mouth pressed into my neck while he found his release. His muscles rippled and he moaned before pulling out slowly.

I stared at the ceiling and waited for my heart to slow down as Juice headed into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. I heard him pause and looked over towards the bathroom. He was back in his boxer briefs, leaning against the door jam and looking at me with a half grin. I smiled and pointed at the dresser to the right of him.

"Mind grabbing me a t-shirt?" He shook his head and pulled the drawer open. He pulled a white, reaper crew shirt out and walked over to me. I stifled a laugh as he held it above my head. He kissed my lips softly as he pulled it down to cover my torso. I smiled as he broke the kiss and got onto the bed beside me.

"You want me to go?" His fingers were brushing blonde hairs out of my face as I shook my head slowly. He nodded and kissed me before sliding under the covers and opening his arm for me to lie against him. I pulled the sheets over me and cuddled up against his side before falling into an alcohol and activity induced sudden sleep.

I woke up with a jolt to my phone alarm going off loudly. I looked at the breathing pillow I had slept against all night and bit my bottom lip to the brink of cutting skin. The events of the previous night or earlier morning were fuzzy leading up to when Juice came into the dorm. After that, I remembered everything like I was watching it unfold before me. I covered my mouth and patted my fingers against my lips softly.

"Fuck." I whispered as I stared disbelievingly at Juice's tan body that was still sleeping beside me. I climbed out of the bed slowly and grabbed my phone, shutting the alarm off quickly. I started pacing the room and tapped the bottom of the phone against my forehead. I pulled on panties and jeans quickly before grabbing Juice's blanket covered foot and shaking him.

"Hey, wake up. Juice, get up!" I growled at him and looked down at my phone. It was a quarter to six, so no one in the clubhouse should be awake. If he left quickly, we may avoid anyone seeing him leave. He turned over on his side and I watched his eyes fly open. I could see the realization and memories flowing through his mind.

"This isn't my dorm." He groaned as he rolled back over to his back. His eyes met mine and I gave him a little wave.

"Yeah, and I'm not a croweater." I supplied the words he couldn't decide if he wanted to say aloud. He shook his head slowly before covering his face with his hands and groaning.

"Look, you can regret it and shit after you get out of here. Happy's going to be up and waiting for me soon if he isn't already." At the mention of Happy's name, Juice shot out of bed and started muttering different combinations and variations of shit and fuck along with a random damn thrown in for variety.

"We need to talk later, Vic." His eyes didn't leave me as I pulled out a bra and took off the shirt I slept in. I nodded at his words and hooked my bra behind my back.

"I'll go out first and tap on the door if it's clear for you to go. If it isn't I'll just text you once Hap and I leave." Juice nodded in agreement while I pulled a dark green tank top over my head and unlocked the door. The emptiness of the hall made me breath a little easier. I tapped my nails on the door and Juice hurried out. He paused just outside of the door and looked at me, biting his bottom lip. I shook my head.

"Later, Juice. We'll talk later." I didn't want to think that far ahead. I knew a talk would have to happen eventually though. He nodded and headed out to the bar. It wasn't thirty seconds later that Happy emerged out of his room with a yawn. I smiled up at him.

"You ready, Vic?" He gave me a sleepy, half smile as I nodded. We headed down the hall and out to the parking lot. Juice's bike was nowhere to be seen as I climbed on the back of Happy's Dyna. The vibrations of the bike made it hard to ignore how sore the previous night's activities had made me. I pushed it out of my mind and tried to focus on the long awaited tattoo that I would be getting in a few minutes instead.

**Okay, so this wasn't something that I had initially planned on, but it just happened, just like Victory is probably thinking right now. So, I do want to say that I'm not planning on making them a couple. That may depend on your feedback, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen. There's a lot that I've got in mind for the characters going forward, but my updates will be slower since I've just started a new job. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't hate me for what transpired. xoxo **


	5. Cookie Dough and Wine

Happy transferred the tattoo he'd drawn for me from the paper to my skin, lining it up at the base of my neck with the feathers flowing down between my shoulder blades. I lay silent and still on the table with my head on my folded forearms. This was my first tattoo and I was hoping that it hurt less than people made it seem. Happy rolled his stool over towards my head and came to a stop.

"What's with you, Victory?" I glanced over at his face and couldn't help but smirk. Starting a few years ago, Happy started wearing glasses when he tattooed. It was a sore subject since he wasn't fond of getting old.

"I'm tired, Hap. Too much Jack Daniels, not enough sleep." I gave him a Teller smile and he nodded. I wasn't lying. I had a horrible hang over and I was ready to go back to sleep.

"A'ight, I'm going to start on the outline. Don't move." I nodded and closed my eyes. The sound of the tattoo gun was comforting and I let my mind focus on the buzzing of the needles instead of how I felt or what was happening outside of the tattoo shop. I felt Happy's hand on my back right before the needles hit my skin.

"Why does Abel act like this hurts so much? It kind of tickles, Hap." I smiled and tried to keep from wiggling under the needles. Happy laughed.

"Cause your brother's a bitch." I took the opportunity to laugh as Happy added some more ink to the needles. He got back to work on the outline and I must have fallen asleep. I woke up to Happy nudging me in the side.

"You're not fucking human." He smirked and pointed over to the mirror. I raised my brow, surprised that my tattoo was already done. I hopped up from the table, holding my bra against my chest as I hurried to the mirror.

"Happy! This is the best. It looks like its hanging over my back." I smiled and sat down on his artist stool to let him put some solution and lotion on it. Once he was done, I grabbed my tank top and pulled it over my head carefully. Happy was packing up his ink, gun and needles when I wrapped my arms around his waist in a tight hug. He laughed and turned around, hugging me back.

"I love you, kid." He planted a kiss in my hair before stepping back and finishing cleaning up. Happy wasn't the type of person to say the l word, but every so often, he'd admit to loving me. I knew that if one day anything happened to Happy, it would be like losing a dad instead of a godfather. The thought made my stomach churn. I'd tattooed his last three happy faces and I knew what they stood for. The MC life was dangerous, gun running or not.

I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Juice before Happy finished locking his stuff away. Thinking about the club and the dangers they faced made me realize how much I cared about Juice. Last night complicated that. I was torn between caring about him as family or something more.

When Happy pulled into Teller Morrow, I noticed Juice's bike in the line right away. I climbed off the back of the bike and handed Happy his helmet before heading into the clubhouse behind him.

"Lotion that twice a day, kid." I nodded and gave him a quick hug. He scowled and gently pushed me away before sitting down at the bar. I waved to Tig before disappearing down the dorm hall. I took a deep breath and knocked once on Juice's door. He opened the door with a half smile.

I leaned up against the wall and looked around the dorm. It looked just like all the others except Dad's. Juice leaned up against the door and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops.

"You get that ink you've been talking about all year?" Juice smiled and looked over at me. I laughed and nodded. Ever since I turned seventeen, I'd reminded everyone I was getting my ink the day after I turn eighteen. Mom almost got aggravated enough to let Happy do it early. I turned around and tugged at the bottom of my tank so he could see the whole thing.

I heard Juice move away from the door and over towards me. My breath hitched as I felt his presence behind me. I didn't risk looking back at him to see how close he was. I could smell the St. Dismas cigarettes and leather.

"Looks great, Vic." He stepped back and I turned back to face him slowly. My eyes lingered on his lips before moving up to his warm, brown eyes. I lost the ability to swallow and my mouth went dry.

"Juice, what happened last night?" He ran his palm from the back of his Mohawk to his mouth. Neither one of us seemed to know where to start or what to say.

"We got drunk." He tapped his teeth together and twisted his mouth. I shook my head with a smirk. This talk obviously wasn't going to be easy. Juice smiled and gave me a little shrug.

"We're going to write it off as a drunken fuck then?" I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and glanced up at him. He shook his head and I closed my eyes, lost as to what the next step was. Juice's hand came up to my cheek and rubbed his thumb over my skin gently. I brought my eyes up to him and felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"Victory, talk to me. We can't just write it off. Drunk or not. I'm sorry." Juice wiped a tear away and rested his forehead against mine. I scoffed and turned away from him.

"That's great, Juice. I'm glad you feel the need to fucking apologize. Sorry I'm just another fucking regret. Do you tell all the sweet butts sorry?" I shoved him back and headed towards the door.

"Damnit, Vic. Stop." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to him. I tried to push away again, but he just held me tighter against his chest. Eventually, I gave up and buried my face in his kutte. He pulled my chin up gently and looked me in the eyes. I bit my lip and ran my hand down from his shoulder and rested it on his Men of Mayham patch.

"Juice, he'll kill you if he finds out." He nodded in agreement. I sighed and kissed him. The taste of Jack Daniels was replaced by the taste of toothpaste. There was a moment of restraint on Juice's part before his hands wound themselves in my hair. He pulled me closer, deepening the kiss.

A knock on the door sent me flying away from him. I jumped on the couch and grabbed his video game controller, resuming the game he had paused when I walked in. He shook his head with a quiet laugh before straightening his kutte and answering the door.

"Hey man, we've got church in twenty." I recognized Brent's voice over the gunfire hailing down around me as I got Juice killed on Call of Duty.

"Son of a bitch." I groaned and tossed the controller onto the coffee table. Juice and Brent looked over at me with raised eyebrows. I shrugged and pointed at the tv.

"What? Fucker was camping in the corner and mowed me down." I crossed my arms over my chest as both of the men started laughing. I didn't have the patience to play Call of Duty, but it was a good excuse to be in Juice's room. Brent headed down to the next dorm to finish spreading the word about church.

"Vic, we can't do this. It doesn't matter how we feel." I nodded as my heart fell a little. Of course he was right. No matter if we were both head over heels, real fucking deal in love, we couldn't be together. He was just a couple years younger than Dad and SAMCRO ever since before I was born.

"I know, Juice." Juice nodded and stepped away from the closed door. His shoulders were slack and I could tell he was putting the club first, just like they all did. I smiled weakly and ran a hand over his short mohawk, giggling a little as it tickled my hand. His warm eyes looked into mine as I felt his breathing pick up.

His lips covered mine gently and my hands wrapped around his neck. I parted my lips and moaned as his tongue slipped into my mouth. Before either of us seemed to realize what was happening, my back was on his bed. Juice nuzzled my neck as my hands went to work on his belt.

"Juice! Get your ass to the table." It was Happy's voice coming through the door this time. My hands dropped from his undone belt and I felt his sigh against my skin. He pushed himself off of the bed and righted himself as I stared up at the ceiling.

Once the doors to the chapel were closed, I headed out to the parking lot and got into my car. If I stayed at the clubhouse, I'd have to face Juice again. I wasn't ready for that. What I needed was time with my best friend that had just broken up with her SAMCRO old man. As selfish as it was, I wanted to focus on her problems so I didn't have to face my own.

"Hey, you're just in time for breakfast, sweetie." Mom gave me a kiss on the cheek as I walked into the kitchen. I hugged her from the side and grabbed a mug off the counter. Misty walked into the kitchen in a t-shirt and shorts, paired with a serious case of bed hair. She greeted us with a growl as she took my full mug and sat down at the table.

"This looks great, Mom." She smiled as she sat down with her own plate of bacon, eggs, and sweet potato pancakes. Misty grunted her agreement through the bite of eggs she was eating.

"So, did you do it?" Mom asked with a smile. I almost choked on my pancake and my eyes flew wide open. She raised her brow at me and waited. Misty laughed a little.

"You've talked about it for a year. Let's see it." Misty pointed her fork at me in a threatening manner. I swallowed my food down with relief and nodded. I pulled my tank top off and turned my back to the table.

"Hap did a great job, Victory. It's beautiful." Mom was still smiling when I turned around and carefully pulled my shirt back on. Misty was nodding in agreement with her own smile. We all finished eating with minimal conversation. Misty was obviously hung over and Mom seemed tired. I collected the dishes and started washing the dishes as Misty poured another cup of coffee.

"I'm going to the grocery store. Do you two need anything that's not on the list?" Mom paused at the end of the counter with her keys in one hand and her purse in the other. I shook my head.

"Cookie dough ice cream and wine." Misty said with a sweet smile. Mom laughed and nodded. I caught her wrist gently as she turned towards the door.

"You're carrying right?" I asked, pointing at her purse. She rolled her eyes and pulled it open, revealing the Beretta that normally stayed with her.

"Victory, sometimes I wonder if you're not Happy and Jax's kid. Relax." I laughed and nodded. I just wanted to make sure she was safe. She waved to Misty and I before heading out the door, armed and ready to go to the grocery store. As soon as the sound of Mom's Camaro faded out into silence, Misty laughed.

"What?" I finished rinsing the last fork and leaned against the counter. She laughed against and pushed herself up to sit on the counter. Her eyes studied me intently and I knew she was picking up on something I was trying desperately to hide.

"Victory Rose, you're hiding something. I thought I'd have to do the Heimlich when Mackenzie asked you if you got your tattoo done. What'd you do?" Misty had a light in her eye and a smirk on her face. It was obvious that we were both planning on using each other's problems to avoid facing our own.

"Something I shouldn't have. I'll tell you and we can talk about it until Mom gets back. After that, I'm hiding away in your problems so I don't have to face my own. Deal?" She laughed and nodded in agreement. I took a long, deep breath and pointed down the hall towards my bedroom. Misty nodded and hopped down from the counter to follow me.

I sat down on my bed and Misty sat down in my office chair. She waited patiently as I tried to decide what to say. Maybe if I got it off my chest, I'd feel better. At the same time, it was stuck on the tip of my tongue.

"Okay, babe. We'll do it old school. I'll just ask questions until we get somewhere." Misty shifted and pulled her legs beneath her. I nodded and prepared for the onslaught of questions.

"Did you ride a motorcycle by yourself?" Misty asked with a raised brow. I laughed and shook my head. I'd done that years ago and she knew it.

"Did you make our with the prospect?" I felt my cheeks warm a little and shook my head. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at me.

"Did you fuck the prospect, Victory? Oh my god!" She was leaning forward and looking at me with big eyes. I shook my head and covered my face with my hands.

"No, I didn't fuck the prospect." I sighed and leaned back on the bed. I stared up at the glow in the dark stars that Misty and I had super glued onto the ceiling when we were ten. Mom flipped her shit when she realized they wouldn't come down.

"No, but you fucked somebody, didn't you?" She plopped down on the bed beside me with her legs crossed beneath her. I moved my eyes over to her and nodded before looking at the stars that had long since stopped glowing in the dark.

"Okay, so if it wasn't the prospect, who was it? Was it a hang around?" I shook my head and closed my eyes. Misty's jaw went a little slack.

"No, it wasn't a hang around. Go ahead. Ask away. I can't say it." I groaned and waited.

"Okay, hmmm. I know it wasn't Kenny. It wasn't Opie, Tig, or Chibs; they all have old ladies. Well, kind of." She laughed a little and continued counting off Sons on her fingers.

"Very funny, Misty. Wasn't any of them." She nodded and smiled. Then, her smile faded a little bit.

"Oh my god, Victory! Was it Happy?" I sat up quickly and narrowed my eyes at her. She threw her hands up a little and shook her head.

"God, no. Happy is like a third parent. Jesus Christ. It was Juice, crazy bitch." Her jaw dropped completely and I shrugged a little. Apparently, she was almost as shocked as I was. For reasons that were beyond my understanding, I started crying. She pulled me into her arms and I buried my face in her t-shirt.

"Victory, it's okay. It was just some drunken mistake. At least the virginity thing is out of the way though." Misty rubbed my back and planted a kiss in my hair. I shook my head and sniffed up my tears.

"It's more than that, Misty. I don't know what to do. Yeah, I was drunk and it probably wouldn't have happened otherwise, but." I stopped myself before I really did make a mistake. She bit her bottom lip nervously and I could see the realization in her eyes.

"But it's more than that, right?" My bottom lip trembled and I nodded my head. It was more than that, of course. I never had an emotional attachment to my virginity. If I didn't have big bad bikers scaring off any real potential boyfriends and suitors, I would have been rid of it a long time ago. No, it wasn't losing my virginity that had me torn up. It was the thought of losing Juice that was ripping my heart into tiny pieces.

"I love him, Misty. Jesus Christ, I've been in love with that asshole since I was sixteen. Ever since we spent that time up in Oregon together." I smiled a little and ran my thumb over the scar on my wrist. He'd been in charge of keeping me safe after the Russians decided the best way to get Dad to deal guns again was to kidnap me for leverage. There was a botched attempt to grab me after school one day and Juice took me up to the cabin for over a week.

Juice's plan for keeping me calm was to tell me all about New York and why he'd decided to prospect. We talked about what I planned to do with my life and even what he had originally planned. I was freaked out, so Juice slept with me. He always stayed on top of the covers, but during the night, I'd wake up and he would be asleep, holding me to him with an arm around my waist.

"You know your Dad won't ever let it happen." Misty said with a frown. I sighed and felt the tears start to fall again.

"I know. They can't find out, Misty. Even if I could somehow keep Dad from killing him." Misty nodded and knew where I was going with it.

"Even if that was possible, you've still got Abel and the Tacoma Killer to deal with. You might get somewhere with one, but not all three." Misty hit the nail on the head. It was more than a disapproving family. It was a disapproving family that ran a motorcycle club with the means and willingness to make someone disappear.

"Enough about Juice and I. How are you?" I hoped she would be lenient with the timeframe of our prior agreement. I was drained from the thoughts and confessions. Misty shrugged and passed me her cellphone. The screen showed twelve missed calls and voicemails along with several dozen text messages. I twisted my mouth and gave her the phone back.

"I take it you haven't responded to anything? I get that you're pissed, Misty. I am to. Obviously." I held up my bruised fist with a half smile. "The thing is, I know you love him. Don't you at least want to talk to him and get some closure?"

"The last thing I want to do is talk to that overgrown asshole. I had closure the minute he opened her legs." I smirked at her word choice and nodded. She was strong enough to be an old lady, for sure. I bit my lip and thought about what Juice had said about Abel.

"What's that look for, Teller?" She had her brow raised and her lips pursed. I made a flapping noise with my lips and shook my head.

"It's not the right time, Misty. Just, don't be surprised if someone tries to comfort you. According to Juice, Abel doesn't have much reason to be torn up over the break up, if you know what I mean. Personally, I think Juice is crazy. I thought I'd give you a heads up though." Misty's eyes were wide and her cheeks were darkening.

"What is it with those leather vested men that gets us all messed up?" Misty asked with a smile. I laughed and shook my head. It was a great question.

**No decisions on pairings have been made as of yet, just so everyone knows. It's such a hard decision that I never even thought I would have to make. So, with that being said, it probably won't be resolved until it feels natural. Victory is coping with the aftermath right now, and as I write, we'll see where that goes. I plan on having some more Abel in the upcoming chapter, so look forward to that!**


	6. You were right

Misty and I were almost through the bottle of wine when Abel walked in. I yawned gave him a lazy wave. Misty blushed a little before she waved at my brother as well. He didn't even seem to see me. Instead, his eyes were focused on Misty, which made me think Juice might be right after all.

"Day drinking, ladies?" He laughed and sat down between us, taking the carton of ice cream from me. I elbowed him in the side, but gave him the spoon to go along with it. "Wine and ice cream. Either both of you are on the rag or you decided not to forgive Kenny." Abel took a bite of ice cream as Misty nodded.

"You're powers of deduction are amazing, Abel. You've broken enough hearts. How have they gotten over it?" Misty smirked and dug her spoon into the ice cream. I turned my eyes to a text on my phone but listened in shamelessly.

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. The one broad I actually dated left my ass for some job in San Diego. Croweaters and sweetbutts don't have hearts. So, if anything, I'm the victim here, doll." I held back a snort of laughter and responded to Juice's text message.

"Fine, I'll give you that one. Riddle me this, why do you keep them around if all they do is suck dick and ruin relationships?" I looked over at Misty as her voice cracked a little. Before I could butt in, Abel put the ice cream on the coffee table and pulled Misty into a hug.

"Doll, I get where you're coming from but they can't ruin shit by themselves. They're around for entertainment and free labor. Without some type of female attention, it'd be hard as hell to get through some of the shit we deal with. It's not like that for everybody, but for me it is. If I actually had a woman at home, those gashes wouldn't even be visible to me." I felt a gag coming on. Misty ate Abel's words up to go with the wine she was finishing off.

Abel wasn't the type of person to lie, so I guess he was being honest about his reasons for giving the croweaters the time of day. I'd never seen them that way, but it made sense. It made me think about Juice and if he used them for the same reason.

"I guess you're a rare one." Misty was smiling and the look in her eye told me the feelings between the two might be mutual. Abel was still holding Misty, even though she wasn't upset anymore. Neither one of them seemed to notice me standing up and leaving the living room.

"Hey, I guess you're busy. Call me back." I confirmed the voicemail and decided not to call Juice twice in a row. Even though Abel was home and we'd been texting, Juice may have been out on club business. Instead of blowing up his phone, I decided to take a shower.

The water poured over my skin as I finally washed off last night's activities. I kept the water cool, for the sake of my fresh ink. Despite the water temperature, I felt warmth radiating from between my thighs as I thought about Juice. The warmth spread to my cheeks as visions of Juice's warm, brown eyes flashed in my mind.

The vibrations of my phone on the marble vanity caused me to jump out of the shower, nearly busting my ass on the slippery tile as I reached out for my phone. I smiled and answered Juice's call quickly.

"Hello?" My heart was still racing from the near fall as I breathed a causal greeting.

"You okay? You sound funny." The concern in Juice's voice made me smile. Of course, he'd always looked out for me, but it still made me blush.

"I'm fine. I almost slipped getting out of the shower, that's all." He moaned a little and I bit my lip. The affect this man was having on me over the phone was ridiculous.

"We still need to talk, Victory." I sighed and nodded, knowing exactly how he felt. I ran my tongue over my lip as I cradled the phone against my shoulder. I toweled my skin off and headed back into my bedroom.

"Is it about what happened last night?" I thought I knew already, but I had to ask. He scoffed at the question.

"Meet me at my place, Victory. One hour." With that, the call was disconnected. I looked down at my bare skin and started rushing to get ready. Before I pulled my shirt on, I stuck my head out into the hallway.

"Misty! Can you come help me with the lotion?" I heard her footsteps coming down the hallway and stepped back from the door. She slipped in and closed the door behind her.

"I'm here to save the day. Why are you wearing jeans?" She asked as she grabbed the lotion off my dresser. I pulled my hair over my shoulder and turned my back to Misty.

"I, uh. I'm going over to Juice's for a little while." I hissed as the cold lotion hit my skin. Misty giggled and rubbed it in gently.

"You're toeing a dangerous line, babes. I'm here for you, but you gotta know I'm right." I nodded, fully aware that whatever happened when I got over to Juice's wouldn't make things any easier. She finished with the lotion and watched as I pulled on a black top with lace that went from the dipped collar to the cap sleeves.

"If anyone asks, I'm at Juice's playing Call of Duty." I brushed on some mascara and lip-gloss before grabbing my keys and cross-body bag. Misty brushed a damp hair out of my face and nodded.

"Just be careful, doll." I kissed her cheek and headed out towards the front door. Abel was shirtless on the couch. I glanced back at Misty and smirked. She shrugged right before I closed the door behind me.

I was raising my fist to knock on the door when it swung open to reveal Juice in nothing but a pair of jeans. I unashamedly looked him up and down, pausing at the Son and Shine tattoos on his chest. Finally, our eyes met.

"You coming inside, Victory?" He was leaning against the door and his eyes were smiling. I nodded and walked past him, into his immaculately clean house. Juice was well known for his tendency to keep things in a specific order. He closed and locked the door behind me.

"Juice, I have something to say. Don't interrupt me or I'll lose the nerve, okay?" He nodded and took a seat on the couch, leaving an empty cushion between us.

"I was drunk last night and I'm pretty sure you were to. I know neither one of us would have made a move otherwise. The thing is, I don't regret it at all. I'm not ashamed of it. Juice, I know you're older than me and there are probably more reasons not to be together than there are to be together. The thing is, the few reasons I have to want this outweigh all that shit." I stopped talking and remembered to breathe. His eyes were burning holes into the hardwood floor.

"Victory, this can't end well. Jax won't care if we want this or not. I can't blame him either. Is this what you want, Vic? Sneaking around and never being able to kiss in public and running the risk of getting me killed every time I touch you? You're eighteen, Vic. Don't you want a normal relationship where you get to go out and not hide every fucking smile?" He was still looking at the floor. With every word he spoke, I realized exactly what I wanted. I stood up and moved over to him.

"I want you, Juice. Tell me you don't want me and I'll leave. We can go back to pretending like we regret it." I lowered myself down to his lap and pushed his shoulders back onto the couch. His hands were on my hips, holding me in place. I grazed my teeth over my bottom lip and stared into his eyes. They were glossy.

He moved one hand up to the back of my head and pulled down gently. Our lips met and the kiss deepened quickly. My hands slid over his chest and around his shoulders to his back. I felt something wet on my lips just before he broke the kiss.

"I don't want this, Victory." I brought my eyes up to meet his and shook my head at the tear that was rolling down his cheek.

"That's not what I said, Juan Carlos. Tell me you don't want me. Tell me you don't have feelings for me." I locked my blue eyes into his brown ones and refused to look away. He growled and kissed me again, pulling back quickly.

"Damnit, Victory. Why can't you make this easy? I told you I don't want this. I don't want you to throw away everything for me. I'm not good enough for you, Vic." I shook my head and brought my hands up to either side of his face.

"I'm not throwing anything away, Juice, and I'm not making anything difficult. I'm being honest." I kissed him and his hands moved back down to my waist. I could feel the warmth of his skin through my thin top. He growled and kicked up the intensity of the kiss. I spread my knees further apart so I could move myself closer to him. My hips met his and I could feel the hardness through his jeans.

A moan fell from my lips as Juice moved his mouth down to my neck. He trailed kisses down to my chest, licking and sucking at the exposed cleavage. Just the touch of his tongue and hands on my body had a pulse building up rapidly in parts of my body that longed for his attention.

"Juice, please." I moaned and laced my fingers into his. He pulled back and looked into my eyes. I imagined the lust in his eyes was mirrored in my own. Juice kissed me gently on the lips and ran a hand over my hair. His forehead was resting on mine and I saw his jaws tense up.

"Victory, you should go. Please." I frowned and tried to kiss him again. He shook his head and pulled away, pausing to plant a gentle kiss on my forehead.

"I don't want you, Victory." With those five words, I felt my chest tighten to the point of making it hard to breathe. His actions contradicted his words, but it hurt all the same. I nodded and pushed myself off of his lap. He watched me from his seat on the couch. I grabbed my bag and keys and headed for the door.

"I'm leaving, Juice. This is where you stop me. This is where you pull me into your arms again." My hand was on the doorknob and Juice was still sitting on the couch. I felt tears starting to form in front of the eyes that were watching and pleading with Juice. His eyes closed and his head fell as I opened the door. Finally, I nodded and turned away from him.

His hand didn't catch my arm as I walked outside. He didn't call my name to make me turn back. I fell down into my drivers seat with a quivering breath. The door was still open, just as I left it for hopes that he would change his mind. I swallowed hard and the tears started falling down my cheeks.

I turned left out of the driveway, avoiding the general direction of home. Trees, houses, and other cars were a blur as I sped down the road. My tears burned my eyes and I sobbed as I shifted into fifth gear. Out of nowhere, a motorcycle pulled up beside me, waving for me to pull off the road. I slammed my head into the headrest and slowed down quickly, mixing brakes with down shifting.

My door was ripped open before I even had the engine turned off. Juice flung his helmet back towards his bike and glared down at me. It was dark on the deserted stretch of highway right outside of Charming, but I could see the anger in his eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing, Victory? You realize if you'd hit anything, you and this pretty little car would be fucking smashed." I jumped out of the seat and threw my hands up at him.

"Why the fuck are you following me, Juice." I shoved him back towards his bike. He narrowed his eyes at me and balled his hands up into tight fists.

"One of us has to remember who we are, Victory Teller." He moved back towards me and I took a step back. I narrowed my eyes at him and laughed.

"Fuck you, Juan Carlos Ortiz. I'm perfectly fine. You can ride back to Charming. There's no point acting like you care." I smacked him across the face as he reached out for my hand. His eyes flashed with anger as he shoved me back into the side of my car.

"You stupid…woman." I glared at him. I knew what he'd almost called me. His hands dropped to his side and he started pacing the length of my Mustang. I swallowed hard and followed him with my eyes.

"What did you say?" He stopped in front of me and closed his eyes. I bit my lip and waited for him to answer me.

My phone vibrated in my back pocket and I ignored it. Finally, after the third call, I pulled it out and looked at the screen as Juice continued to glare at me.

"Hey, doll. What's up?" I tried to sound normal, even though I was furious with the biker standing in front of me.

"Ellie's in labor. Everybody's headed over to Saint Thomas." I felt my heart drop at Misty's words. Her voice was tense with fear.

"We're on our way." Juice looked at me with alarm as I ended the call. It was the beginning of May and Ellie wasn't due until October.

"We've got to get to St. Thomas. Misty said Ellie went into labor." My voice cracked and Juice gently put me down. I headed to the driver's seat. Juice grabbed my wrist and shook his head.

"I'll drive. We can worry about my bike later. I'll send the prospect to go get it or something." I wanted to argue but instead, I just nodded and headed around to the passenger side instead. Juice flew down the highway as I tapped my fingers on the seat belt across my chest. Once he shifted into fifth gear, he took my hand and held it tightly. I looked down at our hands and then back up to him. The heat that had been there less than an hour ago was gone.

Tig was outside smoking when Juice pulled into the parking lot. He parked next to my mom's Camaro and cut the engine quickly. I didn't wait for him to get out before hurrying into the hospital. I was worried about Ellie and I didn't want to cause anyone to question us.

"Mom how is she?" I hugged my mom tightly before turning to hug Dad as well. She shook her head with a frown, causing my heart to sink even lower.

"She's asking for you, kid." Opie kissed the top of my head and pointed down the hall. I swallowed hard and nodded, making my way down the hall to check on my long time friend and closest thing I'd ever have to a big sister. She smiled through her tears when I walked into the little room.

"Hey baby girl." I bent down and kissed her on the forehead. She was covered in sweat and paler than ever. I sat down in the chair Nick had stood up from when I walked in.

"Hey El. You're going to okay, doll. Abel was early and look at him. He's a big, strong asshole." I smiled as she laughed and nodded a little. It was short lived when another contraction rocked through her petite body. Nick rushed to her side and took her hand. They were breathing together and focusing their eyes into one another's souls. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was watching something too intimate.

"Ma'am, the doctor is coming in to try and get this little one out. I'll have to ask you to leave." I was standing and nodding before the nurse even finished her request. I gave Ellie's hand a gentle squeeze and kissed her knuckles.

"You'll do great, Ma. We're all here for you." She nodded and smiled through the pouring tears and sweat. Juice was standing just outside the door when I walked out. I gave him a weak smile and hitched my shoulder, unsure of what to say. My eyes moved from Juice to the man walking down the hall towards us.

"Happy." I sobbed and flung myself into his chest. He wrapped his protective, tattooed arms around me, careful to avoid my healing tattoo. It wasn't out of character for me to run to him when shit got too deep. Dad always comforted Mom in situations, so I turned to Happy for comfort and security sense I was a little girl. If he wasn't around, I would turn to Abel, but it wasn't the same. Abel and I fed off of one another's emotions too much to really calm one another down.

"You're okay, Vic." He deliberately refrained from telling me that everything was okay or even that Ellie was okay. If he couldn't guarantee it, it didn't say it. So, as usual, he only promised my well being. I nodded and took a deep breath. Happy felt me relax and slowly let me go. I looked up and saw the uncertainty in his eyes. He hated anything he couldn't control and this was one of those things.

"Where the fuck is your shirt? You trying to dress like Kozik?" Happy's eyes had fallen on Juice and I raised my brow. Turning around and really looking at him in the light, I noticed that he was in fact shirtless underneath his kutte. He shrugged and looked a little sheepish.

"It was hot." Happy twisted his mouth and shook his head, but didn't question Juice any further. Juice's eyes met mine for a second and I noticed something was off.

"I'm gonna go get some coffee. You want some, Juice?" He shrugged as if he could do without it, but followed me down towards the cafeteria. Once we'd cleared the hall that the club had taken over, I pulled Juice into an empty patient room. His mouth was on mine before I even had a chance to get a word out. I pulled back before the kiss deepened.

"Juice, not here. What was that look back there? Don't shake your fucking head." I stepped back and looked him in the eyes. He rolled his eyes and ran a palm over his hair.

"I should have been the one you went to." He hitched his shoulder and I sighed. The sad expression on his face made him look young and vulnerable. Of course he wanted me to lean on him; I wanted the same thing.

"Everyone in the damn hall would have known something was up immediately if I went to you instead of Happy." I bit down on my lip and started to understand that this was going to be harder than I'd realized. Juice nodded and pulled me into his arms.

"It's not too late to change your mind." His voice was barely a whisper against my ear. I caught his mouth with mine and kissed him roughly, hoping to feel something that just wasn't there. I swallowed hard and let my emotions slide back into the deepest parts of my mind.

"We can't do this, Juice. You were right." I felt ice crystals forming around my heart as I walked out of the room. He was still standing there when I turned back towards the hall where Ellie was fighting for her life as well as the newest addition to the family. I was completely numb when I sat down next to Happy.

"Where's the coffee?" He glanced over at me and I shook my head. The last thing I wanted was for Happy to have a rare moment of social function.

"They were out." I lied to Happy for the first time in years. He grunted and faced forward, crossing his arms over his chest. I stared down the hall, not really seeing the nurses rushing in and out of the room I'd left Ellie in a few minutes ago. I went through the motions of smiling and hugging when Nick came out and announced it was a girl. She was tiny and clinging onto life, but the doctors were optimistic and Ellie was okay.

"Must have gotten a midnight shipment." Happy growled as Juice handed him a hot cup of coffee. I didn't even respond. Instead, I grabbed my bag and headed out to the parking lot for a much needed smoke. There was no way I could sit two seats down from Juice.

"Need a light?" I stopped patting my pockets down and glared up at Brent. He was leaning against a no smoking sign with a cigarette between his lips. I huffed and thrust my hand out for the lighter he was offering me. I lit up my cigarette and tossed the zippo back to him. He smirked when he caught it and slid it into the inner pocket of his fresh, leather kutte.

"You ever get the feeling shit would be a lot easier if you just didn't give a fuck?" I took a long drag from the cigarette and looked over at the prospect as I blew smoke rings at him. He furrowed his brow and shook his head.

"You're a little young to be such a pessimist, Victory. It might be easier but nothing would be worth doing. Caring is what makes you human. Fuck, even Happy cares about shit." He laughed a little as I shook my head.

"Thanks for the light." I took another drag and stared up at the sky. The lights around the roof of the hospital outshined the stars above. The stars were still there, but too much stood in the way for the stars to do what came natural and dance alongside the moon. It hit too close to home and the feelings I'd iced out.

"Get lost, prospect." It was my Dad. I flicked the cigarette butte down at the base of the no smoking sign and gave him a little smirk.

"When's the baby coming home?" I sat down on the edge of the brick wall around a bed of flowers. Dad shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Not sure yet. You want to tell me what's got you shutting down? I see it in your eyes, Victory." He sat down next to me and passed his joint over to me. I shook my head as I took a hit.

"It's stupid. I was in the room with Ellie and Nick and I realized I'm probably never going to experience what they have. What you and Mom have, or Tig and Venus, Chibs and Althea, or Opie and Lyla. It's just going to be me." There was a lot of truth behind my words. It was in fact what was wrong. That and the fact that I felt like I'd just lost one of my best friends.

"Victory, when we got you and Mackenzie here eighteen years ago, I was praying to any god or demon that would hear me out. All I wanted was for my family to be safe and healthy. It took hours, but the doctors finally came out and told me you were both going to be okay. Hell, you were two months early but you fought so damn hard that they only kept you in here for a week." He took the joint I was passing him and paused long enough to take a big hit.

"After you and Mack got home, all I focused on was making Charming safer for my family. We even thought about taking you and Abel and moving out of town at one point. Instead, we got through it and stayed put. Point is, I'm always going to focus on your safety, Victory. That's my job, baby. Mine and your mom's job is to make sure your safe. You're an adult now, Vic. You're happiness is completely up to you. As long as you're safe, I'm not going to stand in the way of you having anything you want." He took another hit before passing it over to me again. I shook my head and blew out a trail of translucent smoke.

"Did you memorize a script or did Mom just give you bullet points?" I smiled and watched as his face relaxed into a laugh.

"Doesn't make it any less true, Vic. It was bullet points, though." He kissed me on the temple and stood up, taking the joint with him. I sighed and followed him back into the hospital. My mind didn't have a chance to wander to Juice. Instead, the drama unfolding between Kenny and my brother was drawing everyone's attention.

"You think this shit's okay, Abel? Engine's not even cooled off and you're already itching for a ride." I grimaced at the bike reference. He was obviously picking up on the vibes between Misty and my brother.

"Brother, it's not like that. I ain't the one that pushed her into my arms. I didn't ask for this, Kenny. Never would have said or done anything about it if you'd stayed together." Well, the vibes and suspicions were confirmed. Abel did in fact have feelings for Misty. Kenny didn't look to be a fan of that.

"Stay the fuck away from her, Abel. Nobody's pushing her into your arms. Misty, let's go." Kenny pointed towards the door and stared at Misty. She shook her head and stepped back. We both knew how Kenny could be when he'd been drinking. He'd never hurt a hair on Misty's head, but it didn't make him any less scary. I literally stepped into the middle of it and stared at Kenny.

"Everybody needs to calm the fuck down. Your sister just gave birth to a niece that shouldn't be here until October, Kenny. Don't you think that's a little more important than airing dirty laundry?" He narrowed his eyes at me and I swallowed hard. Fighter by birth or not, Kenny had almost a foot on me and easily a hundred pounds. I could smell liquor on his breath as he walked up to me.

"Back up, Kenny." It was Brent that put a hand to his chest and pushed him away from me. Opie caught Kenny as he backed into him and slammed him against the wall. He had his hand around his son's throat, quietly lecturing him about priorities.

"You didn't have to do that. He's just drunk." Brent shook his head and looked me directly in the eyes. He opened his mouth to respond, but my Dad walked up beside me.

"Make sure the girls get home okay, Brent. Stay there until Abel or I get there." Dad looked at me and nodded back towards Misty who was obviously rattled by what had just exploded around her. I wanted to stay here for Ellie, but I knew there was more I could do for Misty than for Ellie at the moment.

"Call me if anything changes, Dad." He nodded and I kissed his cheek. "Misty, let's get out of here."

"Yeah, okay." She seemed frozen in place until I took her hand and led her out to the Mustang. Brent got on his bike and waited for me to pull out of the parking space. With a deep breath and a split second to process everything that had happened in the last few hours, I nodded to myself and threw the car into reverse.


	7. Plate

Mom was at the hospital to check on Ellie and the baby, as well as give Lyla a break so she could at least go home and shower. So, I was spending my Monday behind the desk in the garage office, attempting to figure out Mom's complicated filing system. The shop was fairly busy and it was sweltering hot outside, so I kept both of the doors closed in order to stay cool and undistracted.

There was a knock on the door while I was in the middle of reading over an invoice for a shipment that was running late. It had some critical parts for customer's vehicles and I knew that if the parts weren't here today, those customers would raise hell about the delay in repairs. Without looking up from the invoice, I called "come in" towards the outer door.

"Uhm, hello?" I glanced up to see a middle aged brunette woman in dress slacks and a silk blouse looking around the office with a strange look on her face. I rolled my eyes and turned to the computer, ready to look up the status of her repairs.

"Last name and type of car." She raised her brow at me and seemed to either be lost or confused to see me behind the desk. I sighed and stared back at her. Customer service was never going to be a career path for me.

"Uh, my car isn't here. I'm actually looking for someone. You look so familiar." She pursed her lips as if trying to place how she knew me. Charming was a small town and I knew she had never seen me before. I folded my arms across my chest and pointed at the door.

"Close that, it's hot. Who are you looking for?" She looked from me to the door slowly before finally deciding to close it and stop wasting the air conditioning.

"I'm actually looking for Jax Teller." I narrowed my eyes at her and stood up. She wasn't from around here, she was in business attire, and looking for my dad. She was either some kind of fed or confused. Either way, I didn't trust her.

"Not here. Was he expecting you?" I leaned back against the desk and waited for an explanation.

"No, I doubt he is. I'll try back later." She shifted her weight towards the door and I knew she was looking to leave quickly. I walked past her and stood in front of the door.

"Not without a reason you won't. What do you want with Jax?" I didn't trust her enough to tell her he was my father.

"That's none of your business." She surprised me by turning and taking the door that led out to the garage. It clearly said employees only, yet she barged right out into the garage like she owned the place. I threw the door open and glared at her as she got into a white Volkswagen Passat. The Illinois tags really threw me off.

"Who was that?" I turned back towards the office and closed the door behind me. Brent was sitting in the chair across from the desk, watching me closely. I shrugged and shook my head.

"No idea. She was looking for my dad. Can you get Juice, please?" His smile faltered a little but he nodded anyways. I sat down in the office chair and searched around for a sticky note as Brent headed across the lot to the clubhouse. By the time I found a sticky and my pen, Juice was walking into the office, closing the door behind him.

"Change your mind again? Seriously, Victory? You can't go back and forth like this." I held up my hand and stopped Juice from making a bigger fool of himself. I tossed the notepad across the desk so he could see it.

"I just need that plate run and anything you can tell me on the owner." The color drained from his face a little, but he nodded all the same. In a flash, he had grabbed the paper and headed out of the office, leaving the door behind him wide open. I cringed, wondering how long it was going to be like this between us.

"Hey, I'm going down to the taco place. You want anything?" Brent was leaning against the door jam that led out to the garage. I looked up at the clock and then down at the papers on the desk.

"Yeah, I'm going with." I said with a smile, grabbing my wallet, keys and cell phone. Brent's smile seemed to grow larger before quickly flattening out to a neutral position. I smirked as I closed the office door behind me. He was obviously trying to hide how he really felt about me going to the taco place with him.

I thought about asking Juice if he wanted anything as we walked past the clubhouse, but decided against it considering how the previous interaction had just blown up. Walking next to Brent, I realized how broad his shoulder were and how his cologne and the smell of oil mixed into what I could only describe as a manly aroma. It was unique to him and I liked it.

"I got it." Brent pushed my hand away as I tried to pass some cash over to the cashier. She did a poor job of hiding a little smile as she took Brent's money for our food. I rolled my eyes and shook my head before following him over to a table.

"Thanks for being there last night. I know you had to be, but still." I shrugged and sipped on the straw to my soda. He nodded and flipped his phone over in his hands, ready to take a call at any minute.

"Can I ask you something?" He stared into my eyes as I brought them up from the table. He didn't really have any expression on his face to give me a clue as to where this was headed.

"You just did. Might as well ask another." I brought up one side of a smile to let him know I was just messing with him. He didn't know me well enough to read my sarcasm yet and I was over giving him a hard time.

"What's with you and Juice? You don't have to tell me, I just want to know." The lack of inflection in his voice or expression on his face was starting to irk me. It reminded me of how Happy acted with most people. The waitress came over and sat our orders in front of us, allowing me a little more time to decide what, if anything, I wanted to tell him.

"If I tell you, there's conditions. First, you can't say shit to anybody else or talk to me about it when anyone else is even close to being around. Second, you have to tell me why you want to know. Don't lie either because I'll know." He nodded and waited for me to fulfill my side of the agreement. I sighed and started unwrapping my quesadilla.

"We got drunk the night of my party. One thing led to another and we hooked up. I thought I wanted more, but he didn't. So, then he thought he wanted more and I realized I didn't. Long story short, it's complicated." I shrugged and took a bite of the cheesy goodness of my quesadilla.

"One more question and then I'll tell you why I wanted to know." I glanced up and him and hitched a shoulder. "Was he your first?"

I took a deep breath and stared at him for a minute. His green eyes didn't leave me as he ate and waited for my answer. Eventually, I just nodded. For some reason, I couldn't verbalize that truth to him.

"I wanted to know because I like you and I needed to know if I would be wasting my time asking you to go to dinner with me this weekend." He hitched a shoulder and finally dropped his eyes from mine and continued eating. Neither one of us said anything to the other as we finished eating lunch. I stood and took our garbage to the trash before returning to the table where he was still sitting.

"Well?" I raised a brow at him, curious as to what his decision was. I wasn't confident on how I felt about his reason for wanting to know, but I wanted to know how it affected him.

"Well what? You didn't answer me." He smirked and slid his phone back into his kutte. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"You didn't ask me anything. You just told me why you wanted to know." I felt myself smiling at the easy back and forth that had somehow formed between us. He shrugged and stood up, nodding back towards the garage.

"I'll pick you up at eight on Saturday." He lit a cigarette and disappeared into the clubhouse. I stood there, just inside the gate and stared after him. Prospect or not, he was a Son through and through. Finally, I just smiled and headed back to the office to deal with the shipment fiasco.

I didn't even have my ass in the chair before the door was thrown open, rattling the framed certificates on the wall as the handle almost knocked a hole in the sheetrock. Juice stormed in the office and slammed a single piece of paper on the desk before turning around and slamming the door closed and glaring at me.

"Where did you get that plate, Vic? Why are you asking questions about it?" I narrowed my eyes at him and folded my arms across my chest. At first I thought he was in a jealous rage.

"A woman came in here looking for my dad and wouldn't tell me why. I got a funny feeling and caught her tag as she pulled off. What's your problem? Who's Tara Knowles?" I read what little information he'd given me and realized that the name didn't tell me anything about who the woman was or why she was looking for my dad.

**Just a quick update during my lunch break! Let me know what you all think, this chapter was mostly just to set up the action in the following chapters and such! We'll get into Abel and Misty and some more focus on Mackenzie and Jax soon!**


	8. Revelations

"Whoa there, little killa! Where are you going and why do I get a feeling it ain't gonna be good?" I looked up at Tig as I pulled the zipper to my boot up right below my knee. He was looking at me with a hint of fear in his eyes. Maybe it was the knee high leather boots or the rest of my black, up to no good clothing.

"I'm going to see an old friend of my dad's. Don't worry about it. Actually, do you know where Happy is?" I finished pulling my hair up into a ponytail and turned to look at him.

"Uh, what friend? He's on a run with Jax. You ain't leaving until you tell me what's going on. Princess or not, you ain't catching charges on my watch." I narrowed my eyes at him as I put my knife in my boot.

"I'm just going to find out why Tara Knowles is back in town and wanting to see my dad. I guess you get to fill in for Happy tonight. Let's go." I zipped up my hoodie and motioned towards the door. Tig shook his head and blocked my path.

"Victory, you can't go all pms and break her damn door down just because she and your dad dated in high school. He's been with your mom for years now. What does it fucking matter if she's here?" He clearly didn't understand me after all these years. If there was one thing that mattered to me in this world, it's my family. Tara Knowles needed a good reason to need to see my dad and I was hell bent on finding that out. If it turned out to be a potential threat to my family in any way, it would be handled accordingly.

"Look, if you don't want me to catch charges or whatever, then come along and play watch dog. I usually don't do this type of shit without Happy, but I'm pissed off." I groaned as the door behind Tig opened, revealing my mother standing there with a scowl.

"Do what type of shit without Happy, Victory? What the hell is going on?" She looked back and forth between Tig and I. He didn't say a word.

"Nothing, Mom. I'm heading out." I went to move past her and she caught my wrist, yanking me back forcefully. She hadn't been a cop for years, but I'd be damned if she didn't remember handling techniques. My arm was twisted behind my back and the tips of my hair were tickling my fingertips.

"Ow, shit. Let go, Mom." She shoved me lightly and folded her arms across her chest. I sighed and pointed towards the chapel. Normally, I wouldn't go in there without a Son, but we needed privacy if she was finally going to find out about shit.

"Spill it, Victory. I've known there was something going on for a long time. You and Happy share these looks sometimes, like some secret code. Hell, you'd think he and Jax had you and I was just some aunt." She scoffed and stared at the reaper carved into the table. Her words hit me hard. I never meant for her to feel like that. I thought keeping her at arms length was the safest thing for her.

"You're my mom. Nobody can even begin to think about filling those shoes. I just thought that the less you knew, the less you'd worry. Before you ask, Dad doesn't know anything about what I'm about to tell you. Just me and Happy." A single eyebrow shot up in surprise but she waited for my explanation. I was confident that she had horrible thoughts running through her mind.

"When I was sixteen, Misty and I went to some senior party out near Oswald's place. We were drinking and hanging out when this guy came up and started pushing up on her. She was into it for a little while, but then he tried to push it to far and I decided we should head home. She passed out while I was trying to find the girl we'd ridden out there with." I shook my head and wished I had a joint. "I couldn't find her, so I called Happy. Misty wasn't where I'd left her when I went to go find our ride."

"Where is this going, Victory. You're starting to scare me." I looked up at her through my mascaraed eyelashes and frowned. This is exactly why I didn't want her to know. I never wanted her to be afraid of me. She kept her distance from me when she would normally hug me. I spun my toothpick end to end with my tongue.

"I found her with that asshole. She was barely conscious and he was working on getting her pants down. There was a broken tree limb close by, so I hit him over the head with it. He went down and Misty passed out again. When Happy found us, I'd already finished cutting his fingers off. He was bleeding out pretty quickly, so I just watched." My mother had her hand over her mouth and she looked almost as pale as Misty normally was. Tears started falling down her face as she shook her head.

"You killed someone at sixteen and just stood there and watched him die? Victory, baby, why didn't you tell me about this before? I could have gotten you help." I sighed and shook my head as she battled with whether to hug me or back away.

"I don't need help, Mom. Trust me. The only person that understands it talked to me about it, a lot. I feel like you want me to apologize for it." She nodded and took a step towards me. I shook my head. "I'm sorry you're upset."

"That's not the same thing, Victory, but you know that. You told Tig you usually don't do stuff without Happy. What do you mean, usually?" Her question didn't surprise me. Of course she would want to know more, despite her better judgment.

"You don't need to know that, Mom. Just know that I'm careful, okay? Don't be mad at Happy either. He just does what he can to protect me. Like I said, I'm sorry you had to find out and I'm sorry you're upset." I walked towards the door, but she caught my wrist again.

"Do you feel any type of regret or remorse or even realize what you've done is wrong, Victory?" I frowned at her and closed my eyes.

"I love you, Mom." I kissed her on the cheek and moved out of the chapel quickly. The anger that I felt earlier was still there, but my focus was off. If there was anything I learned over the last few years, it was the importance of focus. Instead of acting, I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and headed back towards the dorms.

"You okay?" Juice was walking out of the gym, dripping sweat down his bare chest. I smirked and nodded. The last thing I needed was to add another mistake with Juice to my already fucked up family situation. His doubt was written all over his face, but I didn't stick around to try and convince him otherwise.

I changed plans and headed to the roof instead of the dorm. The stars did a much better job at calming me than sitting in my dad's old dorm where I'd fucked Juice less than two days ago. The unmistakable sound of v-twin engines filled the air as the guys returned from the run. I sighed and blew a trail of smoke up into the air. Whiskey and weed were finally getting the job done and I was feeling nice and numb, until the engines cut off and I heard my mom's voice down in the lot.

"You fucking asshole! How could you? She's your fucking godchild, Happy!" I rushed over to the ladder and rushed to get to the lot. There was never any doubt that she was pissed, despite my plea. I didn't think she'd attack him like that though.

"Mackenzie! What's going on? Stop!" My dad was holding her back as she tried to hit Happy. I could tell from the look in his eyes that tonight wasn't the best time to mess with him.

"Victory, go home!" Mom snapped her fingers at me and pointed towards my car. I shook my head and walked towards her. Whether she liked it or not, I fully intended to fix shit with her. If she could accept the club, including Abel, and what they did, she could accept what I'd told her.

"Mom, you need to calm down. This is why I never told you anything." I heard Happy groan from behind me. I stepped forward and reached out to hug her. I was greeted by a slap across my face instead.

"Mackenzie!" My dad was oblivious to what was going on. I scowled and backed up. Obviously, she wanted to judge me and turn a blind eye on the club.

"Just because I don't have a fucking kutte you think I'm some fucking saint? You can love Abel but hate me? Fine." I spun on my heel and headed to my Mustang, my fists clenched from anger and pain. She obviously didn't want to accept me for who I was when Abel probably had more blood on his hands than I did. He probably didn't have the flair or close contact I did, but blood is blood.

"Victory!" I ignored Happy and my Dad both yelling after me and flew out of the lot.

**Jax:**

"Damnit," I shot a glare at Mackenzie and headed back over to my bike to go and chase down my daughter. Obviously, I didn't have any idea what was going on, but I knew she didn't have any business driving around without anybody watching her back.

"Just let her cool off, brother." Happy lit up a cigarette and headed over towards the clubhouse like nothing had happened. Sometimes, his lack of emotion got under my skin. Mackenzie laughed and shoved him hard on the chest.

"You think you have the right to call shots about parenting, Happy? She's my daughter! You've fucked her all up!" She was bringing her hand back to slap him when he caught her wrist.

"Don't fucking touch me, Mackenzie. You're talking about shit way out of your element." Happy dropped his hand from her arm once I stepped up next to her. I could tell he was still in the mindset of killer from the shit that had gone down on the run. It wasn't stress or regret with Happy, it was just a different mindset where he shouldn't be confronted or challenged. My wife was currently doing both with a fuck ton of hostility.

"How about someone clue me in on what's going on? Victory's my daughter to, Mackenzie. You can't just flip out on Happy and Victory and expect me to sit back. What the fuck is going on?" I was tired and dealing with domestic shit wasn't on my list of things I wanted to be doing. I'd planned on taking my wife home and fucking her brains out, not breaking up fights between her and Victory or her and Happy.

"Your killer here passed on his hobby to our daughter. I don't even recognize her anymore." She was on the verge of tears and I wasn't any closer to figuring out what she was talking about. Happy flicked his cigarette down and laughed darkly.

"I wasn't even there the first time. If it wasn't for me, Victory would be serving multiple life sentences by now. You even stop to think that maybe you should have noticed a long time ago? By all means, try and stop her from releasing that shit and you can deal with the carnage, Mom." Suddenly, I realized what was going on. It was something I'd assumed for a while now.

"Mack, stop blaming Happy. He can't help who she is anymore than she can. If you want to be mad at somebody, be mad at me. I let her get too close to the club a long time ago. By the time I realized that, it was too late. You try to pull her or push her out now, it's just going to tear our family apart." Mackenzie turned her eyes to me and slapped me across the face. The sting was nothing compared to the pain I felt for having kept this from her and having my suspicions all but confirmed. Mackenzie seemed to have more details than I did, but I didn't want them.

"I hate you, Jax." She shoved past me and got into her Camaro without looking back. Within the last five minutes, both of the women in my life had sped away in cars too fast for their own good. I knew better than to chase Mackenzie down. She liked to say that Victory got her temper from me, but she was no saint herself.

"Jax, Tara's in town. She came by looking for you when Vic was working in the garage earlier." Juice was breathing heavily as he skidded to a halt, almost running into the already temperamental Happy. As if the night wasn't bad enough already.

**Victory:**

I threw my bedroom door open and jumped back quickly. Misty pulled my sheet up to cover her chest as I got a better look at my brother's bare ass than I ever needed. Despite the drama that I'd just left behind in the parking lot of Teller-Morrow, I couldn't help giggle a little. I closed the door and headed into the living room, grabbing a bottle of water on the way. At least someone seemed to be having a good day.

"Victory! Shit, I'm sorry!" Misty was standing in front of me in gym shorts and Abel's shirt. I laughed and shook my head with a smirk.

"At least tell me you got off before coming out here. It's fine, really. I was just coming to get my shit anyways. You can keep those sheets." I made a disgusted face and watched as Abel walked into the kitchen in nothing but his jeans.

"What are you talking about? Where are you going?" She narrowed her eyes at me but couldn't hide her just fucked blush when she caught Abel out of the corner of her eye. I shook my head and made my way back to my room to grab some clothes and the essentials.

"Mom and I got in an epic fight. I just think I should give her some space. We graduate and everything in a couple weeks anyways. I'll be up at the cabin until then. After that, we can get that apartment, unless you're planning on shacking up with Abel." I winked and threw a pair of jeans into the bottom of the duffle bag. Misty laughed and shook her head.

"No way, jose. We're taking it slow and I'm living with my bestie and only my bestie. I can grab some stuff if you want some company up at the cabin." She smiled and moved to get some clothes for herself.

"I just need some quiet time, Misty. Keep an eye on Mom and Dad for me, okay?" I smiled and kissed her forehead. She was the closest thing I would ever have to a little sister.

"Vic, you aren't going to the cabin are you?" I looked back at her with surprise. Of course she would know if I was lying or not.

"No, I'm not. I'll be fine. I've got my phone if you need me and Happy knows where to find me, just don't ask him unless it's an emergency." I adjusted the bag over to my other shoulder as Misty nodded slowly. She didn't have any idea what type of things I was capable of or what I had done for her on occasion. It was my goal to keep it that way.

"Be careful, Victory." She squeezed my freehand and followed me back towards the living room. Abel raised his brow at the bag on my shoulder, but didn't ask any questions. Despite the years between us, we had a pretty decent level of twin telepathy. He may not know what was driving my decision, but he knew I needed space.

I tossed my bag into the passenger seat and pulled my phone out of my pocket. Without realizing what I was doing, I texted Brent the address to the cabin and told him to pick me up there on Saturday. In reality, I was going to be on the opposite side of Charming, but I didn't trust him enough not to share that address. The cabin would just have to be our rendezvous spot.

**Big revelation this chapter and it kind of sheds some light on why Happy and Victory are so close. It's part of who she is and we may learn more about it going further, just depends on if there's any interest in it and what I can dream up!**


	9. 90 MPH

My knuckles were busted and bleeding but I just kept pounding them into the punching bag again and again. The conversation that I'd had with my mother repeated in my head on a never-ending loop. Her disappointed frown tugged at my heart as the vinyl of the bag ripped more skin off of my hands. It had been four days and I still couldn't bear to think about going back to school, much less the clubhouse. My headphones pumped music into my ears, drowning out the silence of the secluded cabin I was holed up in.

"That's a good way to get shot." I had felt a hand on my shoulder and reflexively drawn my 1911 as I spun around to see who had found me. Happy gave me a disbelieving look and shook his head as I put the gun back in the holster.

"If you weren't deafening yourself you could have heard the bike, kid." He glanced down at my knuckles and scowled. I jumped out of the way as he stormed into the kitchen. Moments later, he reappeared with two wet dishcloths and pointed at the chair by the kitchen table.

"Thanks. Why are you here, Hap?" I winced and hissed a little as he put on of the cloths over my right hand. It was apparently soaked in alcohol, not water.

"It's my cabin and you turned your phone off two days ago." He grabbed my left hand and I clenched my jaws as the other alcohol soaked cloth was placed over my broken skin.

"I didn't turn it off. It died and I forgot my charger." Happy didn't look satisfied with my explanation as he leaned back in his chair. He glanced around the room and moved his toothpick up and down with his tongue.

"Jax isn't too happy about you disappearing, Vic. When are you planning on showing up?" He asked with a sigh. I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"I take it Mom doesn't really care I'm gone though." I knew ignoring his question would aggravate him but I didn't have an answer to give him. He slammed his fist into the table and leaned forward. I just stared into his black eyes without so much as a flinch or blink.

"I told you not to fucking say shit about it, Victory. Did you think she'd just be okay with it? Fuck." He rolled his eyes and slammed his back into the chair again. I took a deep breath and stood up, crossing the room slowly to stare out of the window. Of course I didn't think my mother would be okay with what I'd done.

"Am I supposed to feel guilty for what I've done Happy?" I didn't turn away from the window but I knew he was either shaking his head or running his hand over his face.

"Probably but you can't feel something on command, Vic. I've tried before and it just makes shit worse." I turned around and looked at him with a frown.

"I fucked Juice." I don't know why I said it and I immediately regretted it. My guard was completely down and he was being open with me and it just slipped out. His expression hardened and I could see rage building up within him.

"Damnit, Victory. You're less than half his age. What the fuck were you thinking?" He was pacing the room and glaring at me. I wanted to say I was just kidding or rewind forty five seconds, but I couldn't do either.

"Calm down, Happy. I was. We were drunk." I thought that would have calmed him down, but it didn't. At all. Happy veered off of the path he was pacing and flew out of the door.

"Shit. Fuck." I grabbed my keys and ran out to my car as he climbed on his bike and headed down the gravel driveway as fast as he could without laying it over. The gravels cut into my bare feet as I ran over to my Mustang. The back end of the car fishtailed wildly as I flew down the driveway after him.

I hoped to god we didn't run in to any police as I matched his 90mph down the highway. He didn't slow down until the point that he was forced to in order to turn into Teller-Morrow. I yanked the emergency brake up and spun the ass end of the car around, barely managing to straighten it out as I shot past the gate. Happy was already off his bike and throwing his helmet down as I cut the engine and pulled the brake so it didn't roll into the line of bikes.

"Happy! Stop!" He ignored me and almost ripped the door of the clubhouse off its hinges. I hurried in behind him, only to be caught around the waist by my dad. I tried to shove him off and get out of his grip to no avail.

"What'd you do?" His blue eyes were moving over me quickly as I shoved my palms against his kutte, hoping to stop Happy before he found Juice.

"Would you stop him? Please! He'll kill him." My dad raised his brow at me right before a large crash came from down the dorm hall. He let me go and rushed back towards the noise.

Happy had kicked Juice's dorm door in and had him pinned against the wall. A croweater was scrambling to cover her naked body with the sheet and back as far away from Happy as she could. My dad yelled at her to stop screaming as Happy's fist connected with Juice's cheek. I went to grab his arm but there was an arm around my waist, holding me back. My lack of weight started to annoy me since everybody could stop me so easily.

"It was going to happen eventually." Brent said as he shook his head with an apologetic look. I huffed and shoved my way out of his hold. He wasn't as experienced with holding me back as my dad was.

I took a risk and grabbed Happy's forearm as he drew it back to hit Juice again. His head snapped around to look at me and his expression softened by an almost invisible amount, but I didn't miss it. He pushed me off of his arm and looked back at Juice. His fist flew again, but this time he put it through the wall beside Juice's head instead of hitting him. Happy never missed, so I knew Juice had a chance of living.

"I'm going to trust that whatever this shit is would have pissed me off?" Happy looked back at my dad and nodded as he released Juice's throat. My dad looked back at me and then to Juice.

"I don't ever want to know and it better not fucking happen again." I almost laughed at how fatherly he sounded at the moment, but the overall gravity of the situation kept that from happening. I turned and looked at the croweater whose eyes were the size of saucers. She had graduated from my school last year.

"Clean him up." I snapped before grabbing Happy's arm and pulling him out of the room. Brent was standing outside in the hallway and gave me a half smile and a shrug as I used all of my strength to push Happy out to the bar.

"What the fuck are you wearing?" I looked down at myself and then back up at my dad as Happy sat down at the bar. My sports bra was lime green and I had on Nike Pro shorts, so the answer was close to nothing.

"I was working out." I turned my knuckles towards him and shrugged. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Go put some clothes on before your babysitter kills somebody." He pointed down towards the dorms and smiled a little. I laughed as Happy shot him the bird.

"Is that going to happen after we go out Saturday? I'm kind of fond of my face." Brent said with a smirk as I pulled a SAMCRO shirt on over my sports bra. It was my dad's so it was long enough to cover my shorts. I didn't want to push him or Happy any further though, so I also grabbed a pair of sweatpants out of the bottom drawer.

"What? I'm not worth it?" I smiled and stepped into the pants, aware that he was watching me intently. He laughed and shook his head.

"I didn't say that. I'd just like a heads up so I can get a doctor lined up." His comment set off an alarm in my head. My eyes shot up to his and I pulled him into the room, closing the door quickly.

"Have you seen that brunette around here since I've been gone?" I searched his eyes as his brow furrowed a little. It took him a minute but he seemed to remember who I was talking about.

"The one from the garage that you had Juice run the plates on? She was here yesterday when your dad got back from a run. Why?" I slapped my hand on my thigh and shook my head.

"Shit! Did they talk? What happened? Where was my mom?" I rapidly shot the questions at Brent as he looked at me like I was going mad. He placed his hands on either of my shoulders and looked down into my eyes. Something about his eyes calmed me down a little. His cologne smelled good and I could even smell the body wash beneath it. His hands were warm against my normally cool skin.

"Breathe, Victory. Your mom was here. The three of them went into the garage office so I don't know what happened. None of them looked all that happy when they came out, so I don't think it was an orgy. If it was, it didn't go that well." My jaw dropped at his joke. He smirked and I couldn't even suppress my laughter.

"That's disgusting, Brent. They're all old." I was shaking my head and laughing when he laughed as well.

"I'm not going to comment on that." I glared up at him but my smile revealed my true feelings. He had a point, of course.


	10. I Didn't Have To

It was Saturday afternoon as I was sitting on a barstool watching Misty and Abel play pool. Kenny was on a run with Juice, my dad, Tig and Opie, so the two lovebirds were able to flirt in the clubhouse. Kenny knew they were together and had even taken Abel to the ring over it, but they still didn't really flaunt it at the clubhouse when he was around. I was flipping through Inked magazine and sucking on the end of my mint flavored toothpick, happy just to get back into my normal routine.

"You talked to Mom yet?" I looked up from my magazine and narrowed my eyes at Abel. He leaned against the pool table and pulled Misty over to him. She rested her back against his chest and they both stared at me. I sighed and closed my magazine.

"Yeah, I've talked to her. She told me I needed a therapist and I told her I didn't. It was a wonderful chat. Thanks for asking, bro." I folded my arms across my chest and gave him a sarcastic smile. He shook his head before resting his chin on Misty's shoulder.

"Whatever you did or didn't do, just apologize and move on. This shit is ridiculous." He was in true big brother mode today. I sighed and opened my magazine back up. Neither he nor Misty knew what Mom and I weren't seeing eye to eye about and I wasn't exactly looking to push more of my family away quite yet.

"When are you going to get ready?" Misty asked in an attempt to change the subject. My eyes flew up from the tattoo gun advertisement to her and I smirked. Abel didn't know about my date.

"Ready for what?" Abel narrowed his eyes at me as my smirk spread out into a full on smile. It was fun to see him get all worked up.

"My date, nosy." I glanced down at my watch and hopped down from the stool. "Let's go, blabber mouth."

Misty laughed and nodded, kissing Abel quickly before following me back towards my Dad's dorm. I had refused to go back home, so I had taken up residency in his dorm to keep him from flipping out again.

"Oh! I like that shirt!" Misty smiled as I pulled out a black, sleeveless top that was sheer from the bottom of my breast line down. I put it down on the bed and nodded as I grabbed a new pair of jeans out of a shopping bag.

"I'm just hoping we get out of here without Happy flipping out. He's still edgy about the whole Juice thing." I frowned and shook my head as I headed into the bathroom to start working on my hair. Misty followed me and took my comb and hair straightener away from me.

"Are you still edgy about it? You seemed to want to try and make it work with Juice and now you're going on a date with Brent." She tackled the dent my hair tie had left in my hair and met my eyes in the mirror. I stopped outlining my eye with the kohl pencil and looked back at her.

"I thought I wanted to. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized I loved him but I could never really be in love with him. I think I just got caught up in the sex and forgot who we were for a little while. I feel bad for telling Happy. Juice didn't have any forewarning on that beat down." I pursed my lips and went back to focusing on my makeup.

"Yeah, his black eye gave me that impression. You should have known you couldn't hide anything from Happy. He probably knows more of your secrets than I do." She laughed and went back to focusing on my hair. I swallowed hard and glanced back at her. She didn't realize just how right she was.

"Dad had a heart to heart with Brent about our date before he left today. I was surprised he didn't take him to the ring." I laughed and pouted my lips to put on some gloss. Misty moved to my bangs and shook her head.

"He probably sees how Brent looks at you. It's weird. I can tell he wants to rip your clothes off but in a respectful way. It makes no damn sense but that's the only way I can explain it." She smirked as my cheeks reddened a little. I hadn't honestly noticed him looking at me in any way other than smiling or teasing. I almost asked when he'd looked like that when there was a knock at the door. Misty twisted her mouth a little before sitting her tools down in the sink bowl and going to answer the door.

"Victory?" It was my mom. I put my lip gloss down and walked into the dorm. Her eyes were red and puffy and I could see where tears had fallen down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly. I swallowed down my own tears and hugged her back.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Since we were barely on speaking terms, I was worried she had bad news. She shook her head and backed up, sliding her hands down to hold mine.

"I'm sorry, baby. I shouldn't have pushed you away. I love you." She gave me a tight smile and started crying again. I smiled and took my hand away to wipe the tears off her cheeks.

"I get it. That's why it was never brought up before. I can't cry right now though. It would burn. Like a lot." She laughed and nodded, kissing my cheek.

"I know sweetheart. I just wanted to catch you before you and Brent went out. We'll work through this baby. It's what family does." I nodded and felt a huge amount of the weight on my chest lift off.

"Okay." I nodded and headed back into the bathroom before I ended up crying. She looked over the outfit I had laid out on the bed as I finished my hair. Misty sat down on the opposite end of the bed with a smile.

"Don't you dare take any toothpicks with you, Victory. This outfit is too sexy to ruin it with damn wooden stick between your teeth." I laughed at my mom's advice and nodded as I unplugged the straightener.

"Good idea. Any other wisdom you want to share?" I smiled and stepped out of my shorts and into the skinny jeans. She sat down in the chair and nodded.

"Yes. You're going to go back to school on Monday. I haven't been up to the principal's office that often for you not to graduate." Her lips were pursed and I could tell arguing would be a bad idea. I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Okay, okay. I'm not promising you won't have a couple more trips before now and graduation though." I was teasing and laughed at her shocked expression before pulling my top on. I looked down at my chest and twisted my mouth.

"You look perfect, Vic." Misty said with a thumbs up. She knew I was thinking about my lack of boobs. I hitched a shoulder and stepped into a pair of black ankle boots with silver spikes up the back seam.

"Mom, will you go and distract Happy if he's here?" I smiled and fluttered my eyelashes at her. Her smile faded and she shook her head.

"I'll go." Misty said, sensing some tension rising in the air. She gave me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving my mom and I in the room alone.

"Victory, I can't forgive him right now. I don't know if I ever will. He never should have let what he does influence you." She avoiding making eye contact with me and fiddled with the edge of the Harley Davidson blanket on the bed.

"Mom, I didn't even know what Happy did before he found me out there with that asshole. I had a pretty good idea that he killed people, but the whole process was a mystery to me. I thought I was going crazy. I knew what I'd done and I knew how normal people would feel after it and I just didn't feel any of the guilt or sadness. Happy gets it." I shrugged and hoped that she didn't revert back to hating me again. She was silent and still for a couple minutes. Finally, she nodded slowly.

"It's just going to take some time, baby. Just focus on your date. Brent should be here soon." She stood up and kissed my cheek before leaving the dorm quickly. I knew she wasn't comfortable talking about it, but I couldn't just let her blame Happy. I moved over to the full-length mirror on the wall and stared at my reflection. There was a knock at the door before I could start analyzing my eyes to find out what made me so different like I'd done so many times before.

"Hey!" I said with a smile. Brent smile back and nodded as his eyes looked me over from head to toe. I smirked and grabbed my leather bag, closing the door behind me. He was wearing black dickies, a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket. I was surprised he didn't have his kutte on, but figured he probably didn't want to be seen as a prospect on a date.

"Is there a reason Misty and Happy are playing darts blindfolded?" Brent asked as we passed the two doing just that at the bar. I held a finger up to my lips and nodded as I picked up the pace to get out of the clubhouse.

"I wanted to make sure your face wasn't rearranged until we got back." I said with a wink as we cleared the door. Brent laughed and shook his head.

"I appreciate that. You look great, by the way." I blushed a little and hitched my shoulder as he handed me a helmet. I had planned on taking the Mustang to avoid messing up my hair, but I didn't want to ruin whatever plan he had going on.

I'd been on the back of bikes my whole life. Whether it was Happy's or Dad's or even Abel's, I always held on with my legs more than my arms. With Brent though, I wrapped my arms around his waist because I wanted to be closer to him and I had never been on a Switchback where the bitch seat sat up higher than on Super Glides or other Dynas. I inhaled deeply and smelled the familiar cologne and body wash mixed with the leather of his jacket. He started his bike and I smiled in anticipation of our first date.

"I was wondering if you were lost." I said with a smile as I slid off the back of the bike. Brent laughed and shook his head. We were on the other side of Lodi at a restaurant I'd never been to or heard of.

"No, I just wanted to get out of Charming for a little while. You eat Italian, right?" I laughed and nodded as my arm snaked through his. He looked down at me and gave me a half smile as we walked into the restaurant. The hostess looked up from her podium and smiled brightly at Brent.

"Just the two of you?" Her voice made it sound as if she was hoping we had more people joining us. My mouth tightened reflexively as she shrugged and led us back to a table. Brent laughed when she walked away, to which I just rolled my eyes at him.

"So, tell me about yourself. I know you're not from Charming." I had never seen him around and in a town like Charming, you saw everyone at least a few times a year. He leaned back against the booth and hitched a shoulder.

"My dad was in the military so we moved around a lot. He was killed in Iraq a few years ago, so I moved out to California." He went quiet as if that was all there was to tell. The waitress set water goblets down for us and ran down the list of specials for the day. I ordered eggplant parmesan and he ordered some type of steak.

"So you moved by yourself or did your family come with you?" I asked once the waitress headed back to the kitchen. Brent shook his head and took a drink of water. I knew it was a play to buy some time to think of how he wanted to answer the question.

"My mom killed herself a few days after the funeral. I don't have any siblings. So, I just got on my bike and headed out here. Spent some time in San Francisco getting my Harley Davidson mechanic degrees and then I found out about the Sons of Anarchy. Now I'm here." He nodded a thank you to the waitress as she dropped off his beer and a basket of bread.

"I'm sorry about your parents. So you're an actual, certified mechanic? Most of the guys just learn as they go." I smiled and grabbed a breadstick out of the basket. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I've noticed. Luckily the actual mechanics make up for the guys that just work there as a front, otherwise we wouldn't get any customers. I like your eyes." I blushed a little at the compliment he threw in there. Many people had complimented me on my eyes over the years, but I still appreciated it.

"How old are you?" I was curious, not that it really mattered much. Brent smirked and took another drink of his beer.

"How old do you think I am?" He raised his brow and looked amused at my frustration. I was horrible at guessing ages. The waitress set our plates down in front of us, giving me more time to formulate a guess. I knew he was at least twenty-one but that still didn't help me much.

"Twenty-four?" I cocked an eyebrow and took a bite of my food, hoping I wasn't too far off. He smirked and started cutting up his steak, leaving me hanging.

I chewed my food slowly and waited for some type of response.

"Twenty-five next month." He smirked and took another bite of steak. I nodded with a proud smile.

"I like your bike, by the way. It's nice to see a Switchback in the line up. It's a twenty fifteen, right?" He almost choked on his beer as he nodded. Most people didn't realize I was like a walking Harley Davidson catalog.

"Yeah, it is. My dad actually gave it to me for graduation. When are you and Abel going to start work on that Bonneville?" He asked before finishing off his steak. I shrugged and leaned back, full from breadsticks and half of the parmesan I ate.

"Soon, I hope. I really want to start on a sketch for some custom paint, but the inspiration hasn't hit me yet. Plus, I feel like I should probably get it running solid before worrying about the paint." I twisted my mouth a little, knowing it would probably be a while before I could start the bodywork. Brent flipped his knife on it's end and twisted it around on the napkin.

"I'm here to help if you want me to. I know it's a thing for you and Abel to work on, I'm just offering so you can get it up and running." His eyes were fixed on the knife point and I could tell he was somewhat uncomfortable. I reached out and grabbed the hand that wasn't playing with a sharp object. His eyes slid over from the knife to our interlaced fingers to my eyes.

"Thank you, Brent. Like I said, they're half ass mechanics, including Abel, so I'm sure I'll be calling you up on that offer." I was aware of the warmth of his hand and the energy flowing between us.

"You're not in a hurry to get back are you?" He ran his thumb over mine and I shook my head. Going back was the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. Getting to know Brent and just being with him is all that I could really think about.

He settled the check and held my hand as we walked back out to his motorcycle. I found myself blushing and feeling nervous as I strapped the helmet on my head. It was a little big for my head, so I would have to remember to bring my own if we went out on his bike again. I really hoped we would.

Brent headed back towards Charming for a little while, riding at a leisurely speed since the night air was just right for riding. It was cooler than the heat of the day, but it was still warm enough to keep jackets optional. I rested my cheek on his shoulder and stared up at the stars that covered the clear sky.

He turned down a road a few miles outside of town and slowed down. I sat up and looked around, realizing I'd never been down this particular road before. Brent seemed to know where he was going, so I just enjoyed the scenery. A few minutes later, he pulled down a gravel driveway that led up to what looked like a metal garage. He cut the engine and waited for me to get off.

"Where are we?" I pulled my helmet off and ran my hand through my hair, hoping that my helmet head didn't look too bad. Brent hung his helmet on the handlebar and took my hand, leading me towards the building.

"This is where I live. It used to be shipping containers but I fabricated it into a house, kind of. I'm not expecting anything, Victory. I just wanted to show you this because I'm proud of it." He looked over at me with a serious expression and I nodded my head. I knew him well enough in the short amount of time to know he wasn't the type of person to push women into his bed.

"This is incredible!" We walked through the front door and I was blown away. Everything was modern and clean. The floors were a dark colored wood and the furniture was made of leather, metal, and glass. As we walked further inside, I saw how the kitchen was designed with stainless steel countertops and appliances. What really caught my eye was the almost solid glass wall just beyond the kitchen. Brent noticed my smile and flipped a switch, lighting up a patio outside, complete with a grill and seating.

"This is why I didn't prospect for about a year. I bought the land and materials with my dad's life insurance and built this. There was no way I would have had time to do this and prospect at the same time. I barely even stay here right now." He seemed a little dejected by that, but it was part of his prospect year. Most of his time would be spent at the clubhouse or doing tasks for the club out on the road.

"You haven't failed to surprise me this whole night, Brent. Can we go out there?" I pointed out at the patio and he was already walking towards a glass door I only noticed when he opened. I smiled and followed him outside, looking around the wooded property beyond the clearing before sitting down on a cushioned bench. Brent darted back inside and grabbed a couple of beers before reappearing and sitting down next to me.

"I didn't know if you wanted one. You don't have to." He shrugged and sat one down on the coffee table in front of us before pulling out a bottle opener on his key ring. I bit my bottom lip a little and looked from him to the bottle.

"Do you think Juice made me have sex with him, Brent?" I didn't want to bring it up, but he seemed to make a point of letting me know I didn't have to do things. He popped the top to his beer and put his keys on the table.

"Maybe. I don't think you're the type of woman to let anyone call the shots for you, but still. You were drunk and I guess I just think he should have stopped it. If you wanted to hook up sober that's one thing." He silenced himself by taking a long swig of beer. I pulled a cigarette out of my pack and lit it up, buying some time to think about my choice of words as I took a drag.

"I get where you're coming from, Brent. I started it though. Yeah, he could have stopped it, but like you said, I don't really let anyone call the shots for me. It's a lesson learned, I guess." I shrugged and gave him a small smile. Talking about fucking his potential brother wasn't exactly how I planned on spending our time together, but at least it was all out on the table.

We shared some stories about what it was like growing up in one small town versus moving around a lot as the night went on. I found myself relaxing and losing track of time as he spoke. His arm eventually ended up around my shoulders and my head was resting on his neck. My experience with relationships was short and far from glorious, but I was hoping I'd get to spend more time with him.

"Hello? Yeah, hold on." Brent passed his pre-pay phone to me and smirked. I twisted my mouth and held it up to my ear.

"Yeah?" I wondered why someone was calling for me on his phone instead of my own. He moved out from under my head slowly, grabbing the beer bottles and heading inside to throw them away.

"You get it's after one, right? Get back to the clubhouse or go home." It was Happy and he ended the call before I even got to respond. I laughed a little at his overprotectiveness and stood up, grabbing the ashtray to take inside.

"Here's your phone. Apparently my babysitter thinks I'm out past bedtime." Brent nodded and laughed, turning around to grab the ashtray from me. I hadn't expected it, so we were almost chest-to-chest when he turned to face me.

"I'm glad you decided to give me a chance, Victory." He took the ashtray and put it on the counter behind him. His other hand brushed my hair behind my ear. I smirked and nodded.

"I didn't have to." Brent rolled his eyes and laughed once before leaning forward and pausing just before our lips touched.

"No, you didn't." He whispered before kissing me with his perfectly shaped lips. It was soft and he didn't try to push it any further. He hand one hand cupping my cheek and the other by his side. I moved my lips against his, enjoying the way our lips seemed to fit together. He pulled back slowly and grinned.

"We should go. I'm growing kind of fond of your face." He laughed and nodded, dumping out the ashtray before leading me back out to his bike. I felt my stomach doing flips and a warmth in my cheeks.

**Don't worry! The mystery of why Tara is back in town will be revealed in the next chapter. I didn't include it here because I didn't want to tarnish Brent and Victory's date or her semi-makeup with Mackenzie.**


	11. Family Meeting

I walked into my parents' house for the first time since the big blow-up with my mom. The house seemed more like a war zone than the home I had grown up in since I was a toddler. Where there were normally pictures on the wall, they were thrown down and glass from the frames made walking somewhat dangerous. Brent had followed me home to make sure I made it back safe and then walked me to the door; upon seeing the living room, he followed me inside with his gun drawn.

"Mom? Dad? Abel?" I didn't walk any further into the house, concerned about what I would find. My dad appeared from the hallway and his brow raised at Brent, who slowly holstered his gun once he saw the club president.

"What the hell is going on, Dad? Were we attacked or something?" He shook his head and ran his hand over his face as his eyes surveyed the living room. I looked over at Brent and gave him a weak smile. I appreciated him making sure I was okay, but it seemed like there were some family issues going on that I didn't even know about.

"I'll call you later, okay? Be careful." I gave him a quick hug and breathed easier when I read the understanding in his eyes. Hopefully he understood why I didn't invite him to hang out or something like that. He nodded over at my Dad before heading out of the house, glass crunching underneath his boots as he walked.

"What happened?" I walked over to the couch and tossed my bag down, never taking my eyes off of my Dad. His eyes were glossy and I could tell he'd been smoking to take the edge off of whatever I'd missed.

"I got some news I wasn't expecting. Abel went to track Mackenzie down." He shook his head and sat down in his lounge chair. I slowly lowered myself down on to the couch, checking it for any glass or debris first.

"Does this have anything to do with Tara Knowles?" At the woman's name, my Dad's eyes focused on me and I had my answer. I knew I should have encouraged her to leave town that day.

"What do you know, Victory?" He watched me intently as I shook my head and pulled out my pack of cigarettes. Something told me I was going to need some nicotine to get me through the night.

"Not much. I know she was looking for you and that you, mom, and that woman had a long talk in the garage office and it didn't seem to go over well. I also know you two were together when you were my age. So, what happened between the three of you talking and you redecorating the living room?" I lit up my cigarette and took a long drag before tossing him the pack. He sighed and took a cigarette, lit it, and tossed it back over to me.

"Well, I found out that you and Abel have an older sister." He said it so calmly that I almost thought he was joking. I choked on the smoke that filled my lungs and drug my fingers through my hair. It didn't make any sense. Why would we just now be finding out about a sister that was at least a couple years older than Abel.

"Wait. So, Tara comes around and tells you about a daughter that has to be what, almost twenty-five or six? That makes no fucking sense." I shook my head and strummed my thumb on my cheek. My dad suddenly stood up and walked over towards the window, just staring out into the darkness.

"She's seventeen, Vic. Your mom and I split up for a few months when you were little. It didn't have anything to do with Tara, but she showed up and I don't think I have to tell you how babies are made." My whole body was numb and I started wondering where he had gotten his marijuana, because it was obviously laced with some trippy shit.

"I'm sorry, I could have sworn you just told me about a younger sister from a booty call with your ex girlfriend that happened when you and Mom supposedly split up when I was what? One?" My voice had started to rise without me even realizing before I was yelling at him. He blew some smoke up into the air before dropping his head and leaning his forearm against the window pane.

"Yeah, well, she's coming here after school's out in Chicago. I don't really feel like talking about it, Vic. The four of us need to have a family meeting about it tomorrow." I heard Abel's bike pulling up in the driveway followed by my mom's Camaro. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists.

"Everyone needs to leave me alone for the night." I warned him before grabbing my bag and storming off to my room before Abel or Mom got inside. The last thing I wanted was to see the truth in their eyes and convince myself that Dad wasn't playing some fucked up joke. My blood was already boiling and I needed to be alone before I said, or worse did, something I would regret.

I didn't sleep at all. The light filling my room was the only thing that brought me out of the trance like state I was in. I had switched off from pacing my room to sitting on the end of my bed throughout the night. Brent had texted me at one point, but I didn't even open the message.

Eventually, a soft knock came from the other side of my door and I felt my chest tighten instantly. One the other side of that door was reality and reality just made me angry. I heard the scraping of metal in the lock and knew that Abel was picking it like he had done so many times before. He looked almost as happy as I felt.

"Where's Misty?" I asked as he invited himself into my room and closed the door. He raised his brow at me before he seemed to register my question.

"In my dorm. She said it would be better if she wasn't around right now." He shrugged and picked up a toothpick from my skull shaped dispenser on my bedside table. I nodded and tried to decide if I was glad she was out of range from the fallout or not. Abel sat down on the end of my bed and stared down at his calloused hands. They were replicas of our father's hands.

"Did you know about mom and dad splitting up when I was little? I know you weren't that old." He nodded and twisted his SON ring around the middle finger of his right hand. It had originally been our grandfather, JT's, ring and Gemma had passed it on to Abel the day that he earned his top rocker.

"Now that it's been brought up and talked about I do. It's not detailed or anything, but I remember Mom took the two of us on a really long vacation around that same time. I think we went to New York or maybe it was Florida. It was one of those states on the East Coast." Abel furrowed his brow as he tried to remember more about a time I never even knew about.

Based on all of the stories I had heard about Mom and Dad made me think that they had never spent more than a week apart, except when he went to prison. I knew that it didn't really change who they were now, but it was still surprising. When you add that to learning about some new sister, it was overwhelming.

"Be at the table in five minutes." Dad called through the door. Abel and I looked at each other in silence as Dad's footsteps faded away. Had the situation been lighter, I would have thought it was funny how similar our call to family meetings sounded like call to church. Abel startled me by standing up quickly and hugging me tightly. I tucked my head into curve of his neck and swallowed down the lump in my throat.

"Come on, Vic. They both slept in their room so it can't be that bad." Abel kissed my cheek and led me out to the dining room with his arm around my shoulders. I leaned on Abel both physically and emotionally. We were always close and no matter what happened in this meeting or afterwards, he and I would stick together.

"Hey, Mom." I kissed her on the cheek before moving around the table and sitting down across from her and next to Abel. Dad normally sat at the head of the table, like he did during Church, but today he sat next to our Mom. It felt strange to see the head of the table empty. As a third generation Teller, club structure and protocol was instilled in my brain and it lead over to home life. That's why Mom always sat to the right of Dad, in the VP spot and Abel sat on his left in the SAA spot. I floated between sitting next to Mom and Abel, depending on my mood.

Dad repeated the information he had shared with me last night and expanded on details like how long he and Mom had split up for and when Tara's daughter would be coming into town. He and Mom held hands the entire time and it did wonders to ease my anxiety. At the end, he asked if Abel or I had any questions.

"Mom, did you know about him hooking up with that whore before this week?" Both of them gave me weak scowls and I hitched my shoulder. I was working on the assumption that Tara knew my parents were married at the time, so I considered her to be a whore.

"Yes, I knew as soon as it happened. Well, maybe a few hours after." She actually smirked a little and Dad laughed. I was surprised to see how easily they were taking it.

"Where's this kid going to be staying and what about the club?" Abel folded his arms across his chest and looked between our parents. I nodded and propped my elbows on the table. Our parents shared a look and I knew I wasn't going to like their suggestion.

"Well, she's going to stay at the guest house here and she'll be on a need to know basis as far as the club goes. I'm not going to keep her out of the clubhouse but she doesn't need to know about anything outside of what a hang around would know." Dad said matter of factually.

"She's going to be here for what? A month? She doesn't need to come around the clubhouse." My statement seemed to take everyone by surprise. I wasn't part of the club, technically, but they were my family. Abel's mouth twisted and he shrugged as if he couldn't find a reason to disagree with me.

"Victory, she's your sister. You may not know her yet, but she's family." Mom said, reaching out for my hand. I shook my head but let her take hold of my hand.

"No, she's not. Blood makes your related. Loyalty makes you family." I said confidently. No one made a move or said a word to disagree with me. They knew I was right.

"Look, just be nice and give her a chance. This isn't her fault and she's going to be nervous enough as it is. Try being a little more like me and less like Happy, Victory." My mom smirked and I rolled my eyes. Abel laughed and earned a sharp elbow jab to the ribs. At least this whole mess seemed to be taking the spotlight off of me for a little while.

The meeting was adjourned and Abel and I bolted out of the house. I didn't really have any plans but I wanted to get out of the house. Abel paused before starting his bike. I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes and looked over at him.

"You want to start working on that Triumph?" He asked with a smile. I nodded and laughed.

"Oh yes I do." I hopped down into my car and started it quickly. Not only did I want to get my bike road worthy, I wanted to lose my mind in turning wrenches and ratchets.

**Yep, that just happened! We'll just have to wait and see how that bomb lands in upcoming chapters. Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed, followed and favorited :) It means the world to me, honestly.**


	12. Pancakes and Eggs

"Good job, kid. I didn't know if you were going to stick with it or not." Happy hugged me tightly and kissed the top of my head. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him with my diploma in one hand and the goofy graduation cap in the other. I had managed to get all of my grades back up to passing in time to walk across the stage with the rest of my class, although I'm pretty certain the teachers just wanted me out of the school more than anything.

"Hey, does this mean you'd be okay with Crowley and I hooking up? He's not my principal anymore." I fought to keep from laughing as I teased Happy. He pushed me back and glared down at me.

"Real fucking funny. Don't think the prospect would like it either." Happy smirked and nodded as Brent walked up from behind me. I gave Happy a smile and turned back to Brent. He was wearing a white button down shirt underneath his kutte and I couldn't help notice how good it made him look.

"Congratulations, Victory." He hugged me close and I inhaled the intoxicating mix of leather and cologne. It had been two weeks since our first real date and we'd gone on a handful more since. There had yet to be any talks about being exclusive or anything, but I was starting to like him more and more. My dad and Happy even seemed to be tolerant of Brent and I spending time together. The same couldn't be said for Abel though.

"Thanks for coming." I smiled up at him; taking a step back and feeling my cheeks warm a little. Brent grinned and nodded. I caught a glimpse of Misty and Abel a few feet away and led Brent over to them as Happy and Chibs started talking about some hot teacher.

"It's finally over! Please tell me there's going to be plenty of alcohol at the party tonight." Misty said with a bright smile. I laughed and watched as both Abel and Brent nodded. SAMCRO was throwing a huge party for Misty and I later that night, which we were both dying to go to. She was still dealing with mother drama and I still hadn't partied my family's big news out of my system.

"Misty?" She and I both turned around to see her mother walking up from the crowd of people on the football field. I saw Misty tense automatically and it put me on edge. Her mother had refused to come to graduation when they talked about it last week.

"Mom, I thought you said you weren't coming." Misty didn't move out from Abel's protective arms as she eyed her mother. Autumn ignored Misty's comment and looked around at the four of us, no doubt seeing the rest of the club in close proximity.

"I was hoping to come here and congratulate you. I didn't think you'd already be so deep with the town trash." I made a move to confront her, but Brent caught me by snaking his arm around my waist. Autumn looked over at me and narrowed her eyes.

"Autumn, unless you're here to apologize or make up with Misty, I suggest you leave. What kind of mother shows up at graduation just to start more shit?" My mother stepped in front of me and planted her hands on her hips. She still had a lot going for her, even after having a kid and being a matriarch for so long and that only made Autumn feel more threatened.

"Mackenzie, you of all people shouldn't give parenting advice. Your daughter is the reason Misty turned out the way she did and now she's your son's little whore. Maybe you should have tried being a mother instead of letting a motorcycle gang raise your children." Autumn snapped, taking a step closer to my mom. Everyone within ear shot turned around and looked at the commotion.

"The club didn't raise my children, Autumn. I did and neither one of them are any the worse for it." My mother's back was towards me but I knew her cheeks were probably starting to redden. She was normally level headed but when she was pushed, the Old Lady side of her started coming to the surface.

"Oh sure, I'm sure that's what any brainwashed bitch that gets knocked up by a Son says." Autumn was obviously trying to get a rise out of any of the old ladies in the crowd. Lyla was already standing beside Brent with her arms across her chest and even Jarry was glaring at Misty's mother. My mother shook her head and turned her back on Autumn, but I could see the fury in her eyes.

"Let it go, Victory. Today isn't about some rejected sweet butt. Why don't you four head out?" She looked from me to Brent and smiled. I didn't want to let it go, but I knew better than to test my mom at moment. Misty and Abel nodded in agreement and walked ahead of Brent and I, heading out to the bikes. I stopped by and gave my dad a hug as he tried to calm my mom down.

"Be good, Victory." He gave me a kiss on my forehead before letting me go and nodding at Brent. I slipped my hand into Brent's and hurried off to catch up with Abel and Misty.

"I'm not riding in this." I said with a laugh as I held up the bottom of my graduation robes. Brent smirked and watched me closely as I unzipped it and shrugged it off of my shoulders. We hadn't moved past kissing and touching, but I knew we both wanted to, even though I was still a little nervous about him judging me for the whole Juice situation.

"Does Mom know you wore that under your graduation robes?" Abel was laughing as he put his helmet on. Misty and taken her robes off to reveal the black dress she had borrowed from me, even though it made riding a motorcycle pretty risqué. I rolled my faded blue jeans down from where they had been hiding underneath the robes and looked at my black tank top with a smile.

"Nope. I'm not going to play dress up just because everyone else is. Worry about what Misty's wearing, not me you creeper." I stuck my tongue out at him as I climbed on behind Brent. Misty laughed and smiled brightly, which relieved me considering what she had just gone through with her mom. Abel shook his head and started his bike, convinced that Misty and I were ganging up on him again. I rested my hands on Brent's broad shoulders and snuck a kiss to the back of his neck.

We followed Abel out to the park and backed into a spot next to his bike. I wasn't sure if this was something that had been preplanned or if Abel was just trying to get Misty and I away from her mother. Brent gave me his hand to help me off the bike as Abel and Misty headed off towards the lake. I watched them walking hand in hand as I took my helmet off. They made each other happier than I had ever seen them apart. Even Kenny had picked up on their chemistry and gave his okay to Abel, after taking him to the ring of course.

"What are you thinking about, Vic?" Brent asked as he pulled me around to face him. I bit my lip and ran my fingers through his freshly cut hair. He'd changed from keeping it short on the sides and long on top to having it mostly the same length. The sides were still growing in, but there was enough to tangle my fingers in. His eyes didn't leave mine, even after I looked over at Abel and Misty and then back to him.

"I think I like you." I whispered as my nails made circles in his hair. He smirked and nodded. His eyes seemed to get a little brighter and he moved his hands down to my hips.

"I like you, Victory. What do you want?" His voice was low and he bent his neck down towards me. I slid my hands down to the back of his neck and shook my head.

"I want what they have. I want to be happy like that." I sighed and looked over at Abel, who was holding Misty against his chest as they both watched the water lap the shore. Brent brought his hand up to my cheek gently and pulled me back to look at him.

"You aren't happy? Vic, tell me what's wrong. I thought we were headed in the right direction." His eyes searched mine and I watched his smile fade. I closed my eyes and put my cheek down on his chest. He rubbed my back with the hand that wasn't in my hair.

"I know you aren't sure about being with me because of what I did with Juice. I get it." I sighed and I felt Brent's chest go still. My chest started to tighten as I realized I had actually been right.

"Victory, look at me. Why would you think I wasn't sure about being with you? So you got drunk and fucked Juice before we even went to the taco truck together. Victory, unless you're hung up on him, I don't care. Is that what you're trying to tell me?" I looked up at Brent and realized we were on two different pages. He thought I was trying to tell him I loved Juice or something.

"No, Brent. I'm trying to figure out why you haven't asked me to be your girlfriend or whatever. I thought you were disgusted by what I did or something." I scowled as he chuckled a little and shook his head.

"No, Vic. I don't even think about that shit. The only reason I haven't locked shit down is because I was waiting for your brother to finally give me the okay. I was going to ask you about it later." Brent smiled and kissed my forehead. I blinked quickly and raised a brow at him.

"Ask me now." I whispered and kissed him on the cheek. He laughed and pushed my hair out of my face gently.

"So demanding! Will you be my girlfriend or whatever you want to label it, Victory? I just want you to be with me and no one else. I want to be able to call you mine." Brent looked me in the eyes and I felt like we were the only two people in the fairly crowded park. I did nod or say anything. Instead, I pulled his mouth down onto mine and kissed him deeply. He turned his head a little and took my invitation to slip his tongue over mine.

"Get a room." Some girl said as she walked by. I took my hand away from Brent's hair long enough to flip her a bird as she walked away. Brent smiled and laughed as he pulled back.

"You're a handful, Victory Teller." He smirked and took my hand. I smiled and hitched a shoulder.

"Hey, you knew that before you kissed me." I winked and he shook his head with a laugh.

"I'm pretty sure you kissed me, Vic. I'm not complaining though." He pulled me closer to him and dropped my hand, wrapping that arm around my shoulders instead. I laughed and shook my head in denial as we reached Misty and Abel.

"You two finally done making out?" Abel asked, looking from me to Brent. I shook my head and smiled over at Misty. She laughed and pulled away from Abel. She took my hand and looked up at Brent.

"I'll bring her back safe in a few minutes." She said with a laugh as he planted a kiss in my hair. He smirked and moved to talk to Abel. Misty and I walked hand in hand to the swings and claimed two of them. She was gnawing on her bottom lip and I leaned back in the swing, staring up at the cloudless sky.

"Thank you, Victory." Misty was swinging back and forth slowly, careful to keep anyone from being able see up the short dress. I looked over at her and sat up.

She had a funny look on her face and I had no idea why she was thanking me.

"For what? I haven't done anything." I said, trying to hide my confusion with a laugh. Misty rolled her head over to look at me and nodded.

"You've been my best friend since before we even knew what it meant. I don't want anything to ever come between that." She smiled and I saw tears welling up in her eyes. I furrowed my brow and twisted my mouth, wondering where she was going with this.

"Abel asked me to move in with him, Victory. I know we were going to get that apartment and." I cut her off with a shake of my head as I stood up. She bit her bottom lip and followed me with her eyes.

"Misty, it's okay. I'm happy for you, doll. You aren't moving into the clubhouse though are you?" I pulled her up from the swing and gave her a tight hug. She relaxed in my arms and I heard her laugh.

"No, definitely not. We're looking for a house to rent or buy over near Lyla and Opie's place." She was smiling and obviously relieved I wasn't upset. To be honest, I was a little disappointed that I'd lost my roommate to my brother, but it didn't outweigh how happy I was for them.

"So, does this news come with a certain bird tattoo?" I attacked her with a hug as she nodded slowly. It was fast, in my opinion, but they were obviously good together.

"Stop attacking her, Vic." Abel ruffled my hair before giving me a one armed hug. I laughed and kissed his cheek, earning a scowl from him. Misty smacked his chest playfully and turned back towards me.

"I know Happy usually does them, but will you do my tattoo, Victory?" I spun around and looked first at Abel and then Misty. She was right, Happy had done all of the crow tattoos that I could even think of. For Misty to ask me was an honor, but there was a lot of pressure that went along with it.

"Yeah, I'll do it. You don't mind if Happy helps do you?" I was nervous about inking my best friend with my brother's crow and wanted to make sure Happy was there to make sure I didn't fuck it up. She shook her head and smiled up at Abel.

"Let's go eat before the party, babe. You two coming?" Abel buckled his helmet and looked over at Brent. He shook his head and held his hand out for me to climb on behind him.

"Thanks brother, we've got plans though." It was the first I had heard of any such thing, but I wanted to spend some alone time with him before the party anyways. Abel nodded and started his bike before Brent did the same. We rode away from Charming and out towards his house, which I hadn't been back to since our first date.

"What do you want to eat, Vic? I can make you pretty much whatever you want." Brent said as he handed me a cold beer. I let him pop to cap off before I moved to sit at one of the bar stools by the kitchen island.

"Pancakes and eggs." I said with a smile before taking a drink. Brent laughed and nodded as he put his beer back down on the island. He started getting pans out and I realized he was serious about cooking for me. I smiled and leaned forward, watching him get everything out. He shrugged his kutte off and hung it on the back of the barstool next to me before getting flour and eggs out.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Brent asked as he measured flour out and dumped it in a bowl. I laughed and took another drink.

"I thought you would at least use mix. Where'd you learn how to cook?" I slid off the stool and joined him over by the stove. He looked over at me and smirked.

"My mom would get really down when my dad left on deployments so I taught myself how to cook. Food Network and Google helped a lot." He stole a kiss before pouring some batter down into the pan. I smiled and traced the skull tattoo on his forearm. He had one on each forearm and hold told me before that they were for his parents.

"I'm not gonna get anything done if you keep doing that, Victory." Brent kissed my forehead and pushed me away gently. I laughed and went back to behaving on the barstool as he cooked.

"That was ridiculously good." I sat back down on the couch after having washed the dishes, despite his arguing for me to let him do them. I tucked myself under his arm and leaned against his chest as he flipped through some television channels. It was getting dark, but it was still too early to go to the party.

"I know." Brent smirked and rubbed my shoulder. "There's nothing on tv." He sighed and tossed the remote onto the leather ottoman in front of the couch. I smirked and climbed over onto his lap. He raised an eyebrow at me and gripped my thighs as I leaned forward and kissed him. I loved the way his mouth felt against mine and felt myself wanting him more.

"Victory, babe," Brent moaned as my fingers started unbuttoning his shirt. We'd been further than this before, but we both seemed to know it wasn't going to stop unless one of us made pulled away. His hands moved up and slid underneath my tank top, pushing it up and over my head.

He moved his mouth down to kiss my neck and trailed his kisses down to the flesh exposed by the demi-cup bra. I moaned and ran my hands through his hair as his teeth nipped at my skin. His beard tickled and teased my skin as I leaned back to give him more access. Instead, Brent stood up suddenly and wrapped my legs around his waist as he made his way back towards the bedroom.

He put my back down on his bed gently and stood up. I turned my head to the side and watched him take his unbuttoned shirt off and toe his boots off before pulling mine off as well. I bit my bottom lip and took in the sight of his muscles and tattooed chest as he raked his hair out of his face. I'd seen him shirtless before, but I still wasn't used to it.

"You're beautiful." He whispered as he hovered over me. I smiled and pulled him down to my mouth again. He lowered down and I could feel the hardness of his arousal through his jeans. I felt tingles moving up and down my body as his hands explored my stomach and chest.

I trembled as Brent moved his hand underneath my back to unclasp my bra. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth slightly as I ran my fingers down his back, barely scratching his skin. Our kiss broke apart as he pushed himself up and pulled my bra off, tossing it over onto the floor. He ran his thumb over my hardened nipple and watched my back arch with a smile.

We took it slow and explored one another as if we would never have the chance again. My breathing matched his rhythm as he buried himself inside of me. I moaned at the feel of his tongue on my neck and I knew I was close to the edge. He brought his mouth up to mine and laced his fingers in with mine. My breath hitched as my back arched and my body tightened around him. I moaned into his mouth and lost myself in the pleasure rippling through me.

**Since the site was down for so long today, I was able to write quite a lot for this story :) I'm close to having another chapter to post shortly! Let me know how you like this one :)**


	13. Shots

"You're trembling, baby." He traced his fingers over my bare skin as he climbed back on the bed. I nodded and smiled up at him.

"I'm okay, Brent. How do you still smell like leather?" I asked as he pulled me closer to him. He laughed and shook his head.

"I don't know. Maybe you just have the smell permanently stuck in that nose of yours." He kissed my nose and brushed his thumb over my cheek. I rolled my eyes and kissed his lips gently.

"We need to go before we do that again and someone declares me missing." He sighed and nodded before rolling off the bed and grabbing his clothes off the floor. I followed suit and pulled on my underwear as I watched him get dressed. He smirked and grabbed a t-shirt out of his dresser. It clung to his muscles and made me want him to take it right back off.

"Get out before I take advantage of you." I teased, stepping into my jeans. He raised his brow shook his head. I gave up and turned around to finish getting ready instead.

"It's about damn time you get here!" Misty kissed my cheek and handed me a beer as soon as Brent and I got off his Switchback. I raised it up to her and took a drink before hugging her tightly.

"Well come on then, lady. Let's party!" She laughed and watched me as I finished the beer off in one more drink. Abel shook his head and clapped Brent on the shoulder.

"You get to babysit now, prospect. Have fun with that shit." Abel flipped me a bird as I stuck my tongue out at him. Misty laughed and led me into the clubhouse for shots. I shook my hair out and snapped the hair tie around my wrist as Rebecca poured Misty and I four shots each.

"Four? Really? Are you trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me, Becca?" I positioned myself behind my assigned shot glasses as Rebecca poured Misty's. She laughed and shook her head.

"Four years of high school means four shots, princess. I pour the drinks, I make the rules." She finished pouring the last shot for Misty and gestured at the drinks. Misty and I shared a look and I hitched my shoulder before picking up my first shot.

"Here's to never going back to the principal's office." I threw the shot back and coughed at the burn as it rolled down my throat. Misty laughed and held her first glass up to me.

"Here's to never getting suspended and having to go back." Misty's face screwed up as she tossed the liquor down her throat. I smirked and nodded, picking up the second glass.

"I'll let you drive the Mustang if you finish your shots before I do." She laughed and gave me a thumbs up. Rebecca laughed and counted down from three for us. I leaned my head back and threw back one shot after the other. Misty laughed and raised her second shot up to me as I slammed my empty fourth glass down on the bar.

"Bitch." I growled as she slowly did her second shot. She nodded in agreement as Tig walked up and grabbed one of her shot glasses. I threw my hands up and scoffed at him.

"What? Can't let you two have all the fun, little killer. You seen your babysitter?" Tig asked before gulping the tequila down. I nodded and pointed towards the dorm hall where I'd seen him as Misty and I walked in. Tig shook his head and sat down on the barstool.

"What's wrong?" I asked, realizing he was a little put off by the information I'd given him. He sighed and glanced over at me.

"He and Juice are having it out about something. Jax told them to kiss and make up and it pissed Hap off." Tig hitched his shoulder and turned back to his beer. I nodded and slid off my stool to go talk to my godfather.

"Victory! Can I talk to you?" Juice caught my wrist as I rounded the corner. The pleading look in his eyes and the tequila in my blood persuaded me to hear him out.

"What, Juice?" I followed him into his dorm and watched as he paced back and forth. He made a few more passes before finally stopping and looking me in the eye. I let my arms fall to my side and shook my head, knowing that whatever he had to say wasn't going to be something I wanted to hear.

"I can't get you out of my damn head, Vic. I get why we wouldn't work but that doesn't make me want you any less." He shrugged and once again, I found myself forgetting how old he was. When Juice let his guard down, he seemed more seventeen than forty-seven. I shook my head and sighed.

"Juice, stop. I can't handle this shit. Do you have any idea how much fucking stress I have on me already? I love you, Juice, but it's not how you want me to, it can't be." I frowned and turned away, leaving him alone in his dorm and retreating down the hall to Happy's room. I didn't knock or call his name before sliding into the room and closing the door behind me.

"Forget how to knock, kid? Could have had a bitch in here." Happy growled as he wiped the polishing cloth over his disassembled Glock slide. I rolled my eyes and sat down in his office chair. He continued polishing the slide and looked up at me.

"You got anything coming up soon?" I didn't look up at him and instead pulled my knife out of my boot. I scraped the blade over my jeans and picked at the fuzz it made.

"What's bothering you, Victory. I might have something but you ain't going in with your head all fucked up." I spun the tip of knife around on the heel of my boot and leaned my head back.

"Family, men, life. Take your pick. Every time I think one part is calming down, it just gets fucked up again." I finally looked up to see Happy nodding and reassembling his gun.

"Juice or the prospect?" Happy asked as he slammed his magazine in the magazine well. I groaned and started spinning the knife again.

"I don't even know how to answer that. Everything was going great with Brent and then I get here and Juice wants to fucking get in my head." I stared at the tip of my knife and thought about how easy things would have been if I hadn't gotten drunk with him. Happy sighed and started breaking another pistol down.

"Vic, they're both grown ass men. One more than the other, but you can't let either one of them stress you out. You care too damn much, kid." Happy rasped. I nodded and felt my chest tightening again. I knew he was right, but it was part of who I was and he knew that as well as I did.

"Ignore Juice, Victory. You and the prospect make sense and I don't want to kill him yet." I laughed and looked up at Happy who just shrugged.

"Glad to hear he's not at risk yet. Are you taking care of that thing tonight?" Happy's brow quirked and he shook his head. "Okay, then stop cleaning your Glocks and come out to party. I either need to torture or drink, so let's get a move on old man." I smiled at him and watched as he rolled his eyes and reassembled his Glock like a pro. It was still a goal of mine to beat his disassembly and reassembly time, but I had a long way to go.

I was finishing another beer and talking to Chibs and Happy about the teacher they'd both ogled over at graduation. Happy reminded Chibs that he was back with Jarry and laughed when the VP cursed under his breath. Apparently I was missing the appeal of the woman that had sent me to the principal's office on several occasions. Happy tensed suddenly and I followed his gaze reflexively. Juice was walking out from the dorms and was headed straight for Brent. I moved to intervene, but Happy caught me by the arm and shook his head.

"Gonna happen sooner or later, kid. Prospect can take him." Happy handed me another beer and spun the stool around to watch the shit that was about to unfold. I groaned and chugged the beer down, aware that I wasn't drunk enough to handle this. Juice walked up to Brent and started talking. It took a couple minutes before their voices raised enough for everyone else to hear.

"He know?" Happy asked as Brent looked over at me. I nodded and Happy laughed. I didn't know what was funny about the situation, considering I was in the middle of it all.

"You're a fucking prospect. You really think you deserve to even look at her?" Juice laughed and grabbed the front of Brent's kutte to force him to look away from me. I groaned and shook my head.

"I had the fucking decency to talk to her family, asshole. Get your hands off me. Losing a fight ain't going to help your chances." Brent shoved Juice away from him and walked towards me. I slid off the stool and went to meet him halfway. Happy jerked me back just in time as Juice caught Brent's arm and connected his fist with Brent's chin, sending him stumbling backwards.

"Ay! Break it up or go outside, ya asses." Chibs yelled and stood up from his stool. Happy let me go and I rushed over to Brent. He tried to shove me away as I looked him over. If he was hurt, I couldn't see it through his beard.

"Brent, he's drunk baby. Come play quarters with me." I kissed his cheek and smiled. His scowl softened as his hands rested on my hips. He pressed his mouth down onto mine and pulled me closer to him. He was smiling by the time he pulled back.

"You taste like tequila and beer, Vic. I'm pretty sure you shouldn't play quarters unless you're using water." He followed me over to the bar despite his objections. Abel convinced Juice to go outside and share a joint with him.

"Misty, that was cheating!" I whined as she beat me again. Brent laughed and shook his head as I took another shot. My face was starting to go numb and I shook my head.

"Yeah, you're done babe. You've got too much hair for me to hold back." He teased and kissed me on the cheek as I nodded in agreement. Misty was rather intoxicated herself and let out an "awww". I stuck my tongue out at her and leaned back into Brent's arms.

"None of that, girly." She nodded with a smile and held her phone up to take a picture. I smiled for the camera right before the flash blinded me.

"You two are adorable. Look Happy!" She held the phone out to him with a bright smile. He cocked an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Make sure these two get somewhere safe. Jax and Mackenzie will kill you if either one of them get hurt." Happy warned Brent as he pushed Misty's outstretched phone away. Brent laughed and nodded.

"You might beat them to it." He joked as I buried my face in his neck. Happy laughed.

"You only gotta take care of the princess to keep my knife off your throat." I knew Happy would say something like that, but I still rolled my eyes. I giggled since no one could even see my eyes roll.

"That hurts, Hap. I thought we were tight." Misty scoffed. I turned my head to the side and saw her pout.

"I tolerate you. My dorm is just down the hall if you're worried about being tight." Happy growled, knowing he would get a rise out of her. I saw Misty blush and I shook my head, struggling to sit up. She was always flirty when she got drunk.

"Gross, Misty." I laughed and nudged her with the toe of my boot. She laughed and shook her head.

"What? He's hot. I'm with Abel though so it's not going to happen, sorry Hap." Misty stuck her bottom lip out and Happy laughed. I faked a gag.

"He's old and grumpy. Go find my brother." I smiled and stuck my tongue out at her as Happy and Brent laughed. Misty's brow furrowed and she folded her arms across her chest.

"You fucked Juice but you're saying Happy's to old? That's mean." Misty whined as she slid off the barstool.

"You what?" Abel had walked up behind Misty and heard the tail end of the conversation. Brent carefully pushed me off his lap and shook his head.

"She's drunk, Abel. They're just playing around." I found Brent to be a horrible liar, even through my drunkenness. Abel had ingested his fair share of alcohol and seemed to buy Brent's bullshit. Happy patted Abel on the shoulder and gave him a smile.

"Take the chatty one to bed, kid. You're both hammered." Happy nodded towards the dorms and Abel shrugged, leading Misty off in that direction. Happy shook his head and dropped the fake smile once they disappeared. "That's why I only tolerate that one."

"Point taken. You want me to take you home, Vic?" Brent pushed a strand of hair behind my ear as I nodded and smiled. "Give me your keys, babe. I don't trust you to ride bitch right now."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the keys to my Mustang out of my bag with a sigh. I hated for anyone besides me to drive it, even if he did have a valid point. Happy gave me a hug and nodded to Brent before we headed out of the clubhouse.

"Can we go to your house? I want to cuddle." I asked as Brent started the engine. He glanced over at me and smirked. I hitched my shoulder and leaned my head against the window, falling straight to sleep as soon as my eyes closed.

**What did you think? If you haven't noticed, the hobby that Happy and Victory share is going to come up sooner or later. I also plan on introducing Victory and Abel's sister in the next chapter. I was reading chapter 11 and noticed I messed up on a couple things, so just so everyone knows, the sister is 17 and will be staying in the guest room at Jax and Mackenzie's (they don't have a guest house like Abel said lol)**


	14. Ally

I woke up with my back against Brent's bare chest and his hand on my hip. He was sleeping soundly, so I hesitated to move at all. I glanced down at his black t-shirt that I was wearing and smiled. After sleeping in his bed, wrapped up in his arms, I realized that there was not question about whom I wanted to be with. My gut was telling me that Brent was a good guy and that I could trust him.

"How can you stand to think this early in the morning, Victory?" Brent pressed a kiss onto my neck before moving his hand down to my stomach. I rolled over and kissed his lips gently. He smiled and traced his fingers over my lower back. My phone started vibrating on the nightstand and I was planning on ignoring it, but Brent rolled over and grabbed it for me.

"Hey Dad." I curled my lip at Brent who smiled as he got out of bed. His gym shorts rode low on his hips and I couldn't help but stare at his body as he headed into the bathroom. Once he was out of sight, I rolled over to my back and stared up at the ceiling.

"You realize you're supposed to be here in an hour right?" He sounded aggravated and I sat up to look at the clock. I groaned and laid back down as the shower started.

"Unfortunately. I'll be there, okay?" I had no desire to go home and welcome my father's illegitimate daughter to Charming, but my parents would kill me if I wasn't there.

"Be nice, Victory. Your mom is already ill and I can't deal with both of you on my ass." Dad was in full President mode and I knew better than to try and argue with him. I agreed and ended the call.

"What's your thought on running away for the day?" I asked as I stepped into the shower and ran my hands up Brent's back. He laughed and turned around, shaking his head, and pulled me into the water. I leaned my head back let the water soak my hair.

"I like it but it's not going to happen today. Your mom scares me more than Happy and she already threatened me about letting you skip out on meeting Allison." Brent pushed his hair out of his face and smirked. I pouted my lips and raked my nails down his chest.

"You just mentioned my mother and my sister while were in the shower together?" I folded my arms over my chest and raised my brow. Brent laughed and pulled me to him.

"I think I can make it up to you." I bit my lip and nodded. Brent caught my chin and kissed me forcefully. I pushed my thoughts out of my mind and let myself just be with him.

Abel's bike was parked next to my Dad's as I pulled into the driveway. Brent looked down at the clock on my radio and groaned. We were a good fifteen minutes late and my hair was still wet. The front door opened as soon as I cut my car off. My mom stepped out onto the steps and scowled over at Brent and I. I felt him tense through the hand I was holding on to.

"You're late, Victory. I know Jax called you over an hour ago." Mom was obviously pissed and I debated whether or not to try and give her a hug. I chose the safe route and gave her a quick smile.

"I know, Mom. We had to fuel up the Mustang. I'm here now, okay?" I knew she was probably less upset with me than uncomfortable with the situation. It was one thing to know that the visitor existed, but her arrival was weighing down on us all. Brent gave her a quick hug before following me inside the house.

I noticed the brunette girl sitting on the couch as soon as I walked into the living room. She was holding a bottle of water and talking to Misty who was sitting beside Abel on the loveseat. She was smiling and I noticed how much she looked like Tara and my dad. She had the Teller smile and something about it pissed me off.

"Hey baby." My dad gave me a hug and nodded to Brent. I was stiff and barely even returned the hug. He looked me in the eyes for a minute before turning and looking at the brunette on the couch.

"Victory, this is Allison. Allison, this is Victory and her boyfriend Brent." Mom made the introduction after a few minutes of awkward silence. Allison stood up from the couch and reached her hand out towards me. I looked at it for a moment before taking it in mine and shaking once. Her hands were cold and dainty. I could tell she probably never did any type of manual labor. She gave me a weak smile and then turned to Brent.

"It's nice to meet you both." She smiled a little brighter and took a step back. I nodded to acknowledge her sentiment, but couldn't bring myself to say anything. My dad took my mom's hand and smiled.

"We're going to go get some pizzas or something to bring back. Is your car in the way, Victory?" My mom asked, pausing as she dug her keys out of her purse. I nodded and turned to escape and move the Mustang, but my dad stopped me.

"I got it, Vic." My dad took my keys from me and shook his head. I rolled my eyes and resigned myself to the recliner. As soon as the door closed, Abel started laughing.

"This shit couldn't get more awkward. You need some green, Vic?" He started reaching into his kutte as I shook my head. He raised his brow and seemed surprised that I was turning it down. Allison was looking at Abel as though he was out of his mind.

"I've got a session with Hap later and he won't ink me if I'm not sober. Do you have any tattoos?" I decided to try and make conversation with Allison and even gave her a half smile. She shook her head and rubbed a hand over her forearm.

"No. I want one, but Mom threw a fit when I asked her about it." She rolled her eyes and hitched a shoulder. I twisted my mouth and decided I would give her a chance before passing judgment.

"You can come with me later. Check out what it's like. You might decide to get some ink yourself." I smiled and took the water Brent brought me. He stood behind the chair and rested his forearms on the back, just above my head.

"Sounds fun. So, what are the vests for?" I cringed at her question, but I kept my mouth shut. She didn't know any better and it wasn't my place to answer for Brent or Abel. Abel exhaled and the room started smelling like Juice's dispensary.

"Shows what motorcycle club and charter we're in. If it's got any patches on it, it's a kutte, not a vest." Abel kept his explanation as simple as possible. Allison nodded slowly and then looked over at Brent.

"Are you in a different club?" She was obviously referring to the difference in his kutte and Abel's. Brent chuckled a little as I looked up at him.

"No, I'm just not a full member of the club yet. You've got to earn it." I smirked and thought back to the first conversation we had when he'd introduced himself as the newest member of SAMCRO. Allison smiled and hitched her shoulder. I tried to ignore her smile and looked up at the clock on the wall instead.

"Abel, why can't you smoke outside?" Mom asked as she opened the door to be hit by the fresh herb smell. Abel shrugged and headed in to the dining room where Dad was putting the pizza boxes down. High or not, Abel was a sucker for any pizza he could get a hold of.

Happy was obviously in a mood when Allison and I got to the tattoo shop. He looked from me to Allison and just pointed over at the table without a word. I rolled my eyes and pulled my shirt off before climbing onto the table and rolling over to my side. Allison caught the stool Happy shoved over towards her and sat down near my head. I smiled over at her and propped up on my elbow until Happy was ready.

"Allison, this is Happy. He's my godfather and sensei. Happy, this is Allison." I was relieved to avoid describing who she was to Happy. He already knew and I had a feeling she wouldn't take kindly to being introduced as my Dad's illegitimate daughter.

"I usually just go by Ally." She said quietly. I shrugged as Happy glanced over at her before lining up the transfer over my ribs. He didn't say anything to acknowledge the introduction, which seemed to make Ally even more uncomfortable.

"Stop fucking moving, Vic." Happy growled as he pulled the transfer sheet away. The most moving I was doing was breathing.

"You aren't touching me with needles until you chill out. What's wrong with you?" I sat up and he glared up at me. I waited stubbornly for an answer as he put the tattoo gun back down on his rolling cart. He glanced over at Ally and then back up at me. I got the message that it wasn't something we could talk about. I rolled my eyes and lay back down, hoping he would go easy on my ribs.

"That looks painful." Ally said as she watched Happy drag the needles across my skin. I had to admit, it hurt more than my first one, but it still wasn't that bad. Happy took a break and wiped off the excess ink.

"It's not that bad. Don't mind him Ally. He's not chatty in his best moods." I looked over at Happy who just shrugged and started the gun back up. Ally still didn't seem to convinced or at ease around Happy and I had to remember that he wasn't the same person with strangers as he was with the family.

"Go look at it, princess." Happy peeled his gloves off and ran his hands over his head. I hopped off the table and headed over to the mirror with a smile. I looked over the words, "For those I love, I will sacrifice" and nodded. We had decided to go with club colors and I couldn't have been happier with it. I walked back over to Happy and hugged him around his shoulders.

"Thank you, Hap. I got you on your next one, free of charge." I winked and managed to get a smirk out of him. We would never actually take payment from one another, but it was the thought that counted. Happy glanced over at Ally who was looking at the flash art over by Freddy's station and nodded.

"Thought you might want to help with a new happy face later." Our eyes met and I knew exactly what he was getting at. He was finally ready to take care of whatever job he had told me about and was inviting me to help. We both knew I needed it, so I was more than happy to accept.

"Sounds good. What time?" I pulled my shirt on carefully avoiding the wrap over my fresh ink. Happy tossed the needles in the sharps container and started dumping the ink out.

"Garage at nine and we'll go from there." I nodded and picked up my keys from the desk he was using today. Ally looked back at the jingle of keys and smiled. I returned the smile easily since I finally had work to do.

**We finally met Allison/Ally! We will be diving further into her relationship with the family down the road, but the next chapter will primarily focus on Victory and her plans with Happy. **


	15. The Job

Happy was in the garage when I walked in at a quarter to nine. His Dyna was parked in one of the bays and I noticed he had a large backpack sitting next to it. I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail and sat down on my paint stool as he finished a phone call.

"Anything on your mind?" Happy asked as he put his phone back into the pocket of his black hoodie. I took a deep breath and shrugged. It was a common practice for us to talk about anything that could distract us before we headed out on a job. Normally, I was the one sharing while Happy just listened.

"Ally has been here for less than a day and she's already on my damn nerves. Dad never should have let her come around." I brought my eyes up to meet Happy's and twisted my mouth. He nodded and rolled his head around, audibly popping his neck.

"You worried about not being the princess anymore?" Happy teased with a smirk. I started to shake my head, but I hesitated and let his question sink in. He nodded and lit up a cigarette before offering me one. "Vic, you don't need to worry about being replaced. You've been SAMCRO since you were born on that plane."

"I know, I just don't trust her. She's trying to play the innocent card and I'm not buying it. Half sister or not, I'm not afraid to make sure she knows her place. Your turn, what's been bugging you lately?" I tossed his lighter back to him as he rolled his eyes.

"Club shit, sorry baby girl. You're carrying tonight, Vic. No hero shit. I don't want you inside until he's down. Everything I've seen says he should be alone but if you see anybody coming down the driveway you shoot first and ask questions later." Happy gave me the typical rundown and I nodded in agreement. Ever since the night I went in before he gave me the go ahead, he reminded me not to be a hero, even though he'd have an extra hole in his head if it weren't for me.

Happy cut the lights as we pulled down a long gravel driveway. The loaded bag on my back was starting to cut into my shoulders, but shifting with that much weight wasn't an option. I scanned the tree line as a dilapidated house came into view. There were several lights on inside and I didn't take my eyes off of the windows as I slid off the back of the bike.

"Here, Vic. I'll flash the lights when it's clear." Happy took the bag off my shoulders and handed a Glock over to me. I nodded and watched as he stalked up to the front door. Every time we did jobs at night, it put me on edge. I flicked my eyes from him to the windows to the driveway. My stomach tightened with an uneasy feeling. Something about the house didn't seem right.

Happy was working on the lock when I caught movement in what I assumed was the bedroom. Not one but two figures passed by the window. I flicked the safety off and held my breath as Happy opened the door. I knew they couldn't have heard him over the blaring music but I had no way of knowing where they had gone after leaving the bedroom.

"Son of a bitch." I groaned as I made my way over to the house as quickly and quietly as possible. Happy was already inside and I knew this was exactly the hero type activities he had told me to avoid. I paused at the door and took a deep breath before entering the house.

Happy rounded the corner from the kitchen he had just finished clearing and his eyes fell on me with a scowl. I held up two fingers and pointed in the direction I had originally seen them. He nodded and pointed from me to the open door. With a nod, I moved back towards the door, slowly putting one foot behind the other and never taking my eyes off Happy.

There were two gunshots almost immediately after I cleared the doorway. It wasn't the first time I had heard shots without knowing who was on the receiving end but I still had an overall uneasy feeling about the situation. I watched for the lights to flash and give me the all clear for what felt like an hour. Finally, I threw caution to the wind and headed in.

"You just feel like breaking all the rules tonight?" Happy growled as he walked into the hallway. I shrugged and holstered the Glock behind my back.

"I didn't think it would take you so long to clear this tiny place. Are we working with both of them or just the one?" I was following him back down the hall towards the room I had seen from outside. He shook his head and kicked the door open. I froze at the sight of the man sitting in front of me.

"Bring me some entertainment to make up for shooting me, asshole?" The guy wagged his brows at me and winked. I recognized that wink from the taco truck last week. He licked his bottom lip and I kicked his chair off its legs with a snarled lip. Happy smirked and nodded as he started taking tools out of his bag.

"Why have you been watching the place?" Happy growled as he tossed a pair of gloves to me. I stood beside the toppled chair and scowled at the disgusting thoughts that were written all over his face. He winked at stared at me as he spoke.

"Maybe it's all about the fine ass you've got strutting all over the lot. This one is usually with that big guy though. Glad to finally see you up close sweetheart." He licked his lips and wagged his brow. Happy put his boot on the bottom rung of the chair and yanked it up by the bloody front of the man's shirt.

"Keep pissing me off and I'll just kill you now." Happy growled as he stuck his freshly lit cigarette into the bullet wound in the creep's shoulder. I pursed my lips and rolled my eyes.

An hour into the interrogation, I was growing agitated with the guy's will power. I'd used a drill, pliers and even a lighter on the asshole and he still wasn't talking. Happy had taken over after he realized I was fed up. I stood behind him and watched our new friend Luke for any type of sign that he might be giving in.

I caught his eyes flick to the side and look past me just as I lit my sixth cigarette. There was a creak and I spun around as I drew the Glock out from behind my back. I unloaded three rounds and watched as a knife fell to the hardwood floor with a clatter. Happy scooped me behind him with one arm and aimed his own Glock at the woman as she fell to the floor, obviously dead.

"You fucking bitch. You killed her!" Luke yelled as he struggled against the ropes that bound him to the chair. I moved out of Happy's reach and shoved the hot barrel of the pistol into his mouth.

"I did, Luke. You pulled the trigger though. If you would have answered the fucking questions she would have lived to see you die." I shoved the barrel further in and he squirmed. I moved my finger to hover over the trigger as he started to cry. He tried to speak but the gun garbled his words. I pulled the Glock out and moved the barrel to his forehead.

"Lin hired me, okay? He wanted me to dig up something he could use to push the Sons back into running guns. Please don't" I didn't let him finish his plea before pulling the trigger. I felt warm blood splatter over my face as his head jerked back.

"Son of a bitch." Happy growled as he offered me a rag. I nodded and wiped the blood off of my face before turning to look at him.

"Does this have anything to do with that club shit you mentioned earlier?" I asked with a raised brow. Happy looked over at me and shook his head.

"Wouldn't tell you that if I could, Vic. Let's get you out of here so I can have your boyfriend come and help clean this up." Happy said as he took the rag back.

"Brent went out on a run with Dad, Chibs, Ope and Abel." I said with a pout. Happy laughed and nodded as he repacked his bag.

"I was talking about Juice." He said with a grin. I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. It was nice that he wasn't pissed off any more but I didn't find it funny.

"You know I still have two rounds in the Glock, right? Asshole." Happy nodded and held out his hand for the gun. I smirked and passed it over to him. He finished packing in silence and helped me get the bag on my back as we headed out to his bike.

"You did good in there, Victory." Happy said as he swung his leg over the bike and held out his arm to help me on. I nodded and carefully climbed on behind him.

"I think I'm going to start counting with stars. It's girly and it's the only thing I can think of that goes with my name." I said with a struggled shrug. Happy turned back to look at me and smiled before starting the bike and getting us back to Charming.

I gave Juice a short nod as I headed back to my Dad's dorm. I promised Brent I'd wait for him at the clubhouse and it gave me a reason to not be at home. As I turned the key in the door, I heard someone moving around inside. My mom's car wasn't outside, so no one should have been in there.

"The fuck are you doing in here?" I barked as Ally pulled a pillow up to her bare chest. She had just fucked hair and red cheeks. I slammed the door behind me and planted my hands on my hips.

"Uh, I had Mackenzie drop me so we could hang out. You weren't here though." Ally shrugged and moved to grab her shirt. I yanked it away and shook my head.

"That doesn't explain why you're naked in my dad's room. Who were you with?" I yelled as the door behind me flew open. Ally's face darkened further as she scowled at me.

"He's my fucking father to, Victory. It's none of your damn business who I was with." She snapped. I lunged forward, only to have an arm wrap around my waist and hold me back.

"Let me go, Hap." I turned to look at him and saw Juice standing at his side, staring at Ally. The pieces fell together and I shook my head slowly. Happy looked from me, to Juice, to Ally.

"You stupid fuck." Happy growled at Juice as he grabbed Ally's shirt from me and hurled it over to her.

"Brother, you aren't some saint so don't give me shit." Juice said as he pushed past Happy and I to push Ally into the bathroom. I rolled my eyes and managed to shove Happy's arm away.

"She's jailbait, dumbass." I yelled as I stormed over and shoved his chest. He glared at me and shook his head.

"It's a little late to be jealous, Princess Victory." Juice's words cut me deeper than any knife ever could. I knew having sex with him and then what happened afterwards would complicate things, but I realized I had just lost one of my best friends. On top of the two people I killed tonight, the death of our friendship pushed me over the edge.

"Get out." I said calmly as my emotions shut down. He pushed past me and left the room just as Ally emerged from the bathroom. I pointed towards the door and watched her hurry past Happy. He moved to come closer, but I shook my head. He sighed and nodded slowly before leaving the room and closing the door.

**I know this is a very active chapter and you can rest assure that it sets a lot of things in motion for the remainder of this story. Victory has a lot of things on her mind now and she's coping the only way she knows how. Juice may find some redemption soon, but it will take some time. There won't be any relationship between he and Ally though. **


	16. Evidence

"Open the door, babe." I sighed and rolled the office chair over to unlock the door. Brent walked in and locked the door back. I let him take my hands and pull me up to stand in front of him. He narrowed his eyes a little and brushed his thumb over my temple. He pulled it away and I saw some dried blood on his skin.

"I'm fine." I said with a shrug. Brent shook his head and hugged me to his chest. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. He smelled like gun powder, leather, and cologne.

"Is this Juice's blood?" Brent's words were muffled as his lips moved against my hair. I shook my head and looked up at him.

"No, if he's bleeding that's probably Happy's doings. If we ever break up, please don't fuck my half-sister." I grumbled as he laughed. He caught my lips with his own and ran his hand over my back.

"I think I can promise that, Vic. I'm guessing that's what got Juice a swollen eye? Happy said you were upset." Brent said after breaking the kiss sooner than I would have liked. I rolled my eyes and moved away.

"I'm not upset. I'm pissed off that I was right about Ally and Juice used her to get back at me. I don't want to talk about it." I grumbled as I grabbed my leather jacket out of the closet. Brent shook his head and moved to block the exit.

"That's too bad, Victory. You don't get to shut me out like that. Why do you care who he fucks, Vic?" I scowled at him and pushed my way past him and out into the hallway. He grabbed my wrist and I yanked it back.

"He's been my friend for years, Brent. He just did it to hurt me and it pisses me off." I snapped loudly. He shook his head and ran his hand over his hair.

"Vic, babe, you don't think you might be reading too much into this? She was easy and he's a Son. It's kind of what they do." I laughed darkly and stormed away from him. I made it all the way to my car before he caught up to me and slammed the car door shut before I could get in.

"Stop, Brent. I just want some time to myself, okay? I don't want to say or do something I regret." I said before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. He sighed and backed away from the door. I gave him a small smile and got into my car.

I dropped my hand from the ignition and rested my head on the steering wheel. The roar from the motorcycle that had been tailing me cut off and I closed my eyes. For some reason, the club had a hard time understanding alone time. I peeked up in the rearview mirror and felt all of the blood drain from my head. Behind me was a chopper with exaggerated ape hangers, not a Dyna or any other Son's bike.

The closer the man got to my car, the clearer my thoughts became. I dropped my glove box open and silently thanked Happy for putting a 1911 in there for me. Sure, it was highly illegal for me to be in possession of a handgun at eighteen but the law wasn't exactly a concern at the moment. I grabbed the gun and held it against the door panel with sweaty palms.

"Well, well, well! What do we have here?" The man had a heave Spanish accent, but I didn't recognize his voice from any of the Mayans or Byz Lats I knew. I looked through the window at him and realized he wasn't affiliated with either of our brown allies. Instead, his kutte had an Aztecs patch and I felt my throat start to close up. They weren't supposed to be this far north.

"Can I help you?" I growled as he leaned down and flashed a gold and diamond encrusted grill at me. He smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, baby, you sure can. Where your baby sitters at? Didn't think you'd be alone at this time of night, sweetheart." His pet name made me gag and I gripped the gun a little tighter in order to deactivate the multi-functional safety.

"I don't know what you're talking about, mister. I'm not looking for a date, so I'll just be going now." I gave him my Teller smile and waited for him to back away from my door. Of course, he didn't. I steadied my breathing and moved my trigger finger into position.

**Jax:**

"What is it?" I rubbed my eyes and leaned against my open front door. Brent was worked up about something and almost beat the front door down before I could get to it.

"Look, it may not be anything but Victory isn't answering my calls." His green eyes were darker than normal and he was tapping his phone on his leg, urging it to ring. I shook my head and started growing irritated that he'd woken me up to tell me Victory had finally dumped his ass.

"She's not your property, prospect. If she doesn't want to talk to you then I'm not going to make her." I growled as Abel appeared at my side. Brent shook his head.

"It's not like that, Jax. She's not answering Happy's calls either. She took off about an hour ago and it just keeps ringing and going to voicemail. He told me to come get you before he headed out to find her." I didn't wait for him to finish before I grabbed my kutte from the coat rack and shoved past him. I heard Abel tearing the prospect a new one as he followed me outside.

"Abel, go meet up with Hap. Brent, call Juice and get him to start tracking her car." I called over my bike's engine. Brent raised his brow at me as he started dialing.

I took off towards the cabin, hoping she'd gone there and simply left her phone in the car. The dashed lines of the road seemed solid as I sped past ninety miles per hour. It wasn't like Victory to ignore Happy's calls or mine. I didn't even waste the time trying to call her. If Happy couldn't get her to answer, something was wrong.

**Victory:**

I glanced in the rearview mirror and groaned at the thought of cleaning the blood off of the carpet. I probably could have gotten away with two shots to his chest, but I wanted to be safe and unloaded the entire magazine instead. Now came the hard part that Happy normally took care of. I glanced over at my phone and almost thought about answering his call and asking for his help. With the man being a patched member of the Aztecs, I didn't want to involve the club and start another war when things seemed to be heating up with the Chinese already.

"Why couldn't you be skinnier, asshole." I growled and strained as I pulled him out of my back seat by his boots. His head smacked the ground hard and I flinched at the thought of how much that would hurt if he were still alive. Once he was successfully rolled far enough into the woods, I headed back to the car to try and find something I could use to dig.

I sighed and slammed the trunk closed after choosing my tire iron over the hairdryer and pair of boots that were in the car. The moon had already dipped beneath the horizon and I knew I didn't have much time to get the dick in a shallow grave.

The sky started turning pink and purple as I scooped the warm dirt out with my hands. I was covered in filth and worn out as I raced the clock. I froze at the sound of a v-twin approaching where I'd left my car. The road wasn't highly travelled and I knew there were only two options as to who it could be.

"Victory!" I dropped my hands to my knees and leaned forward, thankful that it was my Dad's voice that was cutting through the cool morning air. I glanced over at the dead guy I still couldn't put in the makeshift grave and rolled my eyes.

"Hey Daddy." I tried to brush some of the dirt off on my jeans and gave him the best smile I could manage. He shook his head and came running over to me. I started crying as soon as his arms were around me. He smoothed my hair and kissed my cheek as the mixture of exhaustion and delayed panic set in. I looked over his shoulder and sighed as three more bikes pulled up alongside his.

"What happened?" Happy asked as I looked over at him, refusing to leave the comfort and warmth of my dad's arms. I took a deep breath and explained everything that had happened since I left the clubhouse. I watched as Abel's eyes widened and Brent started to look sick.

"So, he took a step back to try and open my door and I took the shot. I rolled his bike off into the tree line and covered up the tracks but it can't stay there. Hell, I've still got to finish getting his fat ass in the ground." I finished my story and looked back towards the woods where I had left my unfinished hole.

"You killed somebody and you're first thought is to hide the body?" Brent broke the silence and I looked up at him slowly. Happy clapped him on the shoulder and smirked.

"Lucky we brought a prospect with us. Lead the way, Vic." Happy motioned towards me and I nodded. My dad kept his arm around my shoulders as I led the men back into the woods. I heard Happy chuckle a little as we got to the meager hole.

"Ten feet further left and you would have found fatty a grave buddy. Good grouping on the shots though baby girl." He gave me a smile and I couldn't help but laugh. My dad sighed and kissed my forehead.

"Let's not mention this to your mom, Vic. Follow her home, Abel. We'll finish up here." He gave me another squeeze before gently pushing me towards Abel. I glanced back at the hole that Happy was already starting to improve it with a large, fallen tree limb.

I pulled into the lot and stopped in front of the garage bay that I knew to be empty. Abel hurried over to roll the door up after parking his bike. He lowered it back down after I shut the engine off and got out of the car. Abel came over and opened looked in at the damage I'd done to the interior.

"Most of it's on the seats so it shouldn't be too bad. I'll help you clean it sis." He threw the door closed and pulled me into a hug. I was already calm and actually felt better than I had when I left the clubhouse.

"I'm okay, Abel. Let's work on the bike tomorrow. I can ride it until my car is evidence free." I said with a smirk. He laughed and nodded as we headed out of the garage.

As soon as I got out of the shower and into a t-shirt, I climbed into bed and fell asleep quickly. My head was finally clear and I was able to sleep peacefully. It didn't even cross my mind to see if someone had changed the sheets after Ally and Juice's activities.


End file.
